Iran vows to foil US blocking of oil exports & warns Saudis

◗

Tehran, July 1: Iran vowed on Sunday to defeat US efforts to block its oil exports and warned rival producer Saudi Arabia it would never take Tehran’s “place” in the international oil market.

“We will surely do something to thwart the US rallying cry that Iranian oil ( exports) must be stemmed,” first vice- president Eshagh Jahangiri said in statements broadcast on state television.

“The ( Iranian) government has a plan... And God willing we are certain that we will be able to sell as much oil as we want,” he said.

Mr Jahangiri’s remarks came a day after US President Donald Trump

The US exited from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and said that it would reimpose economic sanctions on the Islamic republic and its business partners by Nov. 4

said that Saudi Arabia’s King Salman had agreed to his request to ramp up oil production.

The US exited from the nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and said that it would reimpose economic sanctions on the Islamic republic and its business partners by November 4.

On Tuesday, a senior US state department official described tightening the noose on Tehran as “one of our top national security priorities”.

The official warned countries, including China and India, who are key buyers of Iranian oil, that they should stop purchasing crude from the country before the November deadline or face US sanctions.

European countries have been attempting to negotiate exemptions for their firms, but the official confirmed that Mr Trump intends to stick to his deadline.