TEHRAN (Iran News) – Speaking in an exclusive interview with “Almasirah” on Sunday, he said that enemies of the Islamic Republic of Iran were unable to reach Iran’s oil export volume to “zero levels’.

He pointed to the manufacturing oil equipment and parts and added that the Islamic Republic of Iran manufactures 80 percent of its fixed oil equipment in the country, no need to import equipment from other countries.

Relying upon domestic capabilities and potentials, giant steps have been taken in order to frustrate and foil unilateral and unjust US sanctions imposed against the country, Zanganeh reiterated.

Elsewhere in his remarks, the oil minister pointed to the high capability and potential of knowledge-based firms and stated, “It is hoped that the Islamic Republic of Iran would be able to attain self-sufficiency in the sector of manufacturing gas turbines and oil pumping devices thanks to the high potential of domestic knowledge-based companies.”

Former President Donald Trump withdrew US from Iran’s nuclear deal, JCPOA, in May 2018 and imposed tough sanctions against the Islamic Republic of Iran for cutting off its oil export to ‘zero levels’ but all the malicious objectives were frustrated.

Zanganeh previously said, “We will return to the market stronger than before, sooner than you might think,” , adding that Iran’s oil exports have “increased sharply in recent days”.

Zanganeh’s comments, reported by the oil ministry’s Shana news agency, are difficult to substantiate. It is hard to monitor Iranian oil exports with regular tracking data because shipments are frequently conducted by state-owned vessels that turn off their transmitters. Vortexa data show Iranian crude and condensate exports averaged 163,000 b/d in the fourth quarter of 2020, while Argus estimates that Iranian crude production increased by 20,000 b/d to 2mn b/d last month.

Joe Biden’s victory in November’s US presidential election paves the way for a marked shift in Washington’s foreign policy and has raised the prospect of US sanctions on Iran’s oil exports being lifted. But the Biden administration is tempering expectations for quick results, insisting that Iran must return to full compliance with its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal if sanctions are to be relaxed. Tehran expects sanctions relief before it resumes its obligations with the nuclear deal. “The ball is in the US’ and Washington’s court,” Iran’s president Hassan Rohani said earlier this week.