First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri told State news agency IRNA on Sunday that European countries have informed Tehran of steps before the sanctions, insuring the Islamic Republic against any losses.
Jahangiri was vague about the guarantees. Some analysts have projected that Iran’s oil sales — 2.5 million barrels per day in May, before Donald Trump withdrew the US from the 2015 nuclear agreement — will fall about 40% to 1.5 million bpd this autumn.
Iran’s oil exports are currently about 2.1 million bpd. They suffered a further blow last week when Indian officials told US counterparts that they will halve imports of Iranian oil by November.
Jahangiri acknowledged that some private companies, particularly Europeans, have left Iran; however, he argued that this has not been “very determining” about Tehran’s economic future.
In fact, major firms such as French energy giant Total, French and German automotive manufacturers PSA and Daimler, Germany’s Siemens, the world’s largest shipping firm Maersk, airlines Air France and KLM, French aircraft manufacturer Airbus, and Germany’s engineering and rail consortium Deutsche Bank have curbed or halted business.
Jahangiri said the European Union has given assurances to small and medium enterprises over threatened US punishment for maintaining links with Iran; however, he ignored that the EU faces difficulties with any guarantees to large companies.
The European Investment Bank said this summer that it will not be able to cover funds in Iran because of its need to raise capital on US markets.
Oil Minister Confirms Total’s Withdrawal
Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh has confirmed the official withdrawal of France’s Total from its $4.9 billion contract for a project in the South Pars gas field, the world’s largest.
“Total has officially left the agreement for the development of phase 11 of South Pars. It has been more than two months that it announced that it would leave the contract,” Zanganeh said.
Total signed the contract with the National Iranian Oil Company in July 2017 but held up implementation this year while waiting for the Trump Administration’s decision on the nuclear deal and US sanctions.
