Iran’s Oil Minister has informed Parliament that the country’s oil revenues have fallen by 40 percent.
Rostam Ghassemi delivered a report of Iran’s oil revenues over the past nine months on Monday January 7, according to ISNA. The report indicated a 40-percent decline in oil revenues and a 45-percent drop in gas revenues.
The EU and U.S. sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors took effect in July, severely limiting the country’s ability to sell its petroleum products abroad.
The fall in oil revenues has had a direct effect on the budget of all ministries, and recently a member of Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, Mohammad Hassam Asfari, said the sanctions are forcing a situation where Iran will need to “exchange oil for food.”
Many Iranian officials have accused the West of intensifying sanctions in order to “create discontent” and to affect a regime change in Iran.
