TEHRAN - While at the beginning of the administration of the late Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi, which took office in August 2021, the country’s oil-selling capacity stood at 300,000 barrels per day (bpd), it rose to 1.8 million bpd a year and a half later.

This is according to Iran's Acting President Mohammad Mokhber who said, "The reality is that while oil selling capacity stood at 300,,000 barrels per day at the beginning of the administration; martyr Raisi could raise the capacity to about 1.8 million billion bpd over a year and a half span and the country was rescued from the very tight financial situation it trapped during the first days of taking office."

He added, "When the late President Raisi took power in August 2021, the country was faced with long hours of blackout, especially during peak hours of electricity consumption, but the Raisi administration managed to solve the problem by getting help from the Energy Ministry capabilities," Shana reported.

“Some people who boasted that they were capable in view of carrying out negotiations, diplomacy and expanding foreign relations, finally ended up in loneliness even among the neighboring countries; he said, noting the Raise’s administration could overcome some shortcomings during his 3-year in office and improved relations with the neighboring countries,” he said.   

Despite the U.S. presence in a number of countries in the region, they have not been able to join a number of influential regional and international treaties, but during the presidency of Raisi, the Islamic Republic of Iran succeeded in joining some important organizations including Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), BRICS group of the emerging economies and Eurasia with close connections to the heads of the member countries, Mokhber added.

Ever since the late Iranian President Ebrahiam Raisi took power in August 2021, the country’s oil exports have been on an upward trajectory.

The rise in Iran’s oil exports has taken place despite tough U.S. sanctions which aimed to choke off Iran’s oil industry as a main source of revenue for the Islamic Republic.

Financial Times cited figures by data company Vortexa last month noting that Iran was exporting more oil than at any time for the past six years, giving its economy a $35bn-a-year boost.

The report said that Tehran sold an average of 1.56mn barrels a day during the first three months of 2024, almost all of it to China and its highest level since the third quarter of 2018.

“The Iranians have mastered the art of sanctions circumvention,” said Fernando Ferreira, head of a geopolitical risk service at the Rapidan Energy Group in the U.S.

Iran’s oil minister Javad Oji said in March that oil exports had “generated more than $35bn” in the preceding year. On another occasion, he said that while Iran’s enemies wanted to stop its exports, “today, we can export oil anywhere we want, and with minimal discounts”.

EF/