Washington, June 21 (IANS). Under the new diplomatic agreement being made between Washington and Tehran, Iran will once again be able to sell its oil in the international market. The Trump administration said on Sunday that this could have an impact on worldwide oil prices and on major oil importing countries like India.
US Energy Minister Chris Wright said in ABC’s program ‘This Week’ that Iran’s return to the energy market would be one of the initial results of the ongoing talks between the US and Iran. However, talks regarding Iran’s nuclear program are still going on.
Wright said that Iran has been selling oil for more than 47 years. He said that Iran’s oil exports had decreased significantly during the first Trump administration, but it increased significantly during the Biden government.
According to Wright, Iran’s oil exports are expected to reach more than 1.5 million barrels per day again. This volume is close to the level it was before the recent tensions. He said that America had shown that it could completely stop Iran’s oil exports, which strengthened Washington’s position in the talks.
“We showed them for two months that we could stop them from selling even a drop of oil,” Wright said.
The US administration said that the concerns in energy markets due to tensions in the Gulf region and blockages around the Strait of Hormuz are now subsiding.
Wright said the movement of oil and natural gas through this important sea route has now become normal. He also said that increased production in the US, more oil from Venezuela and cooperation with major oil producing countries could further reduce energy prices in the future.
The possibility of Iran resuming oil exports has become the most discussed part of the deal.
Former Obama administration national security advisor Susan Rice said that Iran is getting a lot of economic benefits even before any major agreement. As soon as the agreement is signed, i.e. from Thursday, Iran can sell all its oil and oil products in the market without any hindrance.
Iran is being allowed to use the international banking system and access frozen assets. Rice called the decision a ‘huge and very bad concession’. He said that such exemption should have been given after the final agreement with Iran, not before.
–IANS
AY/VC