TEHRAN - First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said on Monday that Iran expects friendly countries, including China, to buy more oil from Iran.

During a meeting with Song Tao, the head of the International Liaison Department of the Communist Party of China, Jahangiri said that China is the main economic partner of Iran and also buyer of the country’s oil.

“We expect friendly countries to be more active in purchasing Iran’s oil,” Jahangiri said.

He added that Iran is ready to export gas to China through Pakistan.

“Iran has the biggest gas reserves in the world and we are ready to export gas through Pakistan,” Jahangiri stated.

The United States has introduced a total ban on Iran’s oil export. 

“The United States assumed that it can cut Iran’s oil sale to zero to ruin our economy. However, fortunately, one year has passed since the United States imposed oil sanctions and Iran’s economic state is stable,” Jahangiri stated.

‘Reducing nuclear commitments intended to save JCPOA’

Elsewhere, he said that Iran is reducing its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, in an effort to save the multilateral agreement.

Iran has repeatedly said if the Europeans respect their commitment to the JCPOA, it will reverse its decision in reducing commitments.

“Other sides should be committed as Iran has been committed to the JCPOA. Iran will return to the situation before reducing its nuclear commitments as soon as other sides fulfil their commitments,” the vice president insisted.

‘Supporting multilateralism, countering U.S. hegemony’

The vice president also said Iran’s foreign policy is based on supporting multilateralism and countering the U.S. hegemony.

Jahangiri also said that an Iranian economic delegation comprising from the central bank and economy ministry will travel to China in future days to iron out a plan for a financial mechanism between the countries to facilitate trade ties. The vice president expressed hope that the talks on devising the mechanism would be “constructive”.

For his part, Song said that Beijing is determined to keep friendly ties with Iran.

China has always attached great importance to ties with Iran, Song remarked.

He also condemned the U.S. unilateralism, saying, “China’s determination to have relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and implement agreements between the two countries will not change. The two countries can provide each other with experiences in countering the U.S. pressure.”

The communist party official urged all sides to implement their obligations under the deal.

“Beijing calls on all sides of the JCPOA to settle differences through negotiation and political strategies, and believes that if all sides remain committed to the JCPOA we will be able to stand against the U.S. unilateralism,” he noted.

-------- Kharrazi: Europeans should stand against U.S. humiliation 

After a meeting with Song on Sunday, Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, told reporters that the Europeans should stand against the United States which is humiliating them.

The JCPOA is a test for the Europeans to show if they can stand against the U.S. pressure. 

Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Expediency Council, also met separately with Song on Sunday.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. withdrew from the multi-nation nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran announced a partial withdrawal from some aspects of the pact, saying that the country would no longer adhere to some of the limits on its nuclear activities. It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if an agreement is not made within 60 days to protect it from the sanctions’ effects. 

In follow-up to that deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67% as the Europeans missed the 60-day deadline to devise a concrete mechanism to protect the country from the U.S. sanctions.

INSTEX – the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges - is a European special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between Europe and Iran.

The European Union announced on June 28 that INSTEX has gone into effect.

Tehran says the mechanism is far short of Iran’s expectation. Iran insists the mechanism should include Iran’s oil purchases.

Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, has likened INSTEX to a “beautiful car without gasoline”.

“The current situation of INSTEX does not suffice. This mechanism without money is like a beautiful car without gasoline,” he told reporters on June 29.

NA/PA