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GENEVA (Reuters) – Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned Iranians that they will face a difficult period when the new US sanctions come into effect on Sunday, but that the government will do its best to ease them.
PHOTO FILE: Iranian President Hassan Rouhani listens at a press conference at the United Nations General Assembly in New York, September 26, 2018. REUTERS / Brendan Mcdermid / File Photo
Washington again imposed a number of sanctions on Iran in May after withdrawing from a 2015 international agreement aimed at curbing Tehran 's nuclear program. US officials have said they want to cut Iranian oil exports to zero.
The news agency IRIB (Radio-Islamic Republic of Iran) quoted Rouhani on Wednesday as "a new injustice", which the government did not fear.
But he added: "In recent months, our people have gone through difficult times and the next few months may be difficult. But the government will use all its power to reduce these problems. "
The cost of living has skyrocketed in recent months, leading to protests against excessive profits and corruption in which protesters chanted anti-government slogans.
The currency has also sunk against the US dollar due to the threat of sanctions, with strong demand for dollars among ordinary Iranians trying to protect their economies.
Iran began Sunday to sell crude oil to private companies for export as part of a strategy to counter the planned sanctions.
"You will not be able to achieve any of your goals regarding Iranian oil," Rouhani said, according to IRIB. "You will not be able to bring it to zero or reduce it."
Meanwhile, Petroleum Minister Bijan Zanganeh announced Wednesday that 280,000 barrels of oil had been sold on the Iranian Energy Exchange and an additional 720,000 barrels would be sold again, according to the website. 39, information from the Ministry of Petroleum, SHANA.
The European powers will set up a "special vehicle" (SPV) under review to facilitate trade with Iran next week, Mahmoud Vaezi, head of the presidential bureau, said Wednesday. Press Islam Republic Republic (IRNA).
The SPV aims to maintain trade when US sanctions strike Tehran.
European diplomats have described the SPV proposal as a way to create a barter system, similar to that used by the Soviet Union during the Cold War, to exchange Iranian oil for European products without exchange of oil. money.
Reportage of Babak Dehghanpisheh; Edited by Dale Hudson and Angus MacSwan
