Iran Having Difficulties Selling Oil

Iran Having Difficulties Selling Oil

Western sanctions have made it difficult for Iran to receive payments for its oil exports.

The impasse between India and Iran regarding payments for Iranian oil, which have been held up due to sanctions on Tehran, may portend further lost oil revenues for Iran. The Islamic Republic will forego around $45 million a day if it halts crude exports to India, where refiners have run up a $5 billion debt since India’s central bank blocked payments to Iran after pressure from Washington. Some in the Iranian government fear other buyers could also yield to pressure from Washington to stop helping Tehran’s nuclear plans indirectly through state-controlled oil sales. “This move by India could also encourage Iran’s other oil customers. Such a trend will harm Iran as the country’s economy is reliant on petrodollars,” said a senior Iranian oil official in Tehran. Although Iranian government officials have said that Iran can develop its vast gas and oil wealth without external project funding or vital technology transfers, Western sanctions have effectively prevented Iran from fully exploiting its gas reserves, costing the isolated Islamic Republic hundreds of billions of dollars in potential export earnings over years.