20.05.201819:44:00UTC+00Iran Says Oil Export Slide not Expected if EU Salvages Nuclear Pact

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh said that the Trump administration's decision to abandon a multinational nuclear agreement will not have repercussions on Tehran's oil exports if the European Union could save the deal.

Speaking to reporters following a meeting with EU's energy chief Miguel Arias Canete on Saturday, the Iranian official said that each decision in OPEC requires unanimity. He believes that if the European Union helps Iran, the level of exports of the country will not change.

After President Donald Trump's decision on May 8, the U.S. Treasury said Washington would renew a wide array of Iran-related punitive actions following the expiration of 90- and 180-day wind-down periods, including sanctions targeting Iran's oil sector and deals with its central bank.

The EU wants to save the 2015 nuclear agreement, which gives the Islamic Republic respite from economic sanctions in exchange for curbs on its nuclear programme. Europe perceives the deal as an important element in international security.

During the last round of sanctions, Iran's oil supplies declined by around one million bpd, but the country resurfaced as a top major oil exporter following the easing of sanctions in 2016.

But major European firms, partially cautious of the remaining U.S. sanctions in the country, have been wary of doing business with Tehran, which needs to entice over $100 billion of foreign investment in order to bolster its crude production.

Zanganeh told reporters that he believed the extraterritorial sanctions from the U.S. will have an effect on foreign investment on Iran. He said that while this may reduce the rate of growth, it will not stop it.