Iran says oil exports continue despite US pressure

Iran’s oil minister, Mohsen Paknejad, has denied that new sanctions and enforcement efforts by the Trump administration against Iran’s energy exports have had a significant impact.

“Right now, we are still exporting oil. There has been no disruption in our shipment routes,” Paknejad told Iranian state media.

Asked about Washington’s efforts to bring Iran’s oil exports to zero, Paknejad said such statements remain unproven. “All of this is being said for now. What is happening in practice is that we are exporting,” he said.

Asked if Iran is ready to deal with tougher sanctions enforcement by the US, Paknejad said, “Naturally, if any restrictions are imposed on Iran's oil sales, we have taken the necessary measures to respond.”

Paknejad also denied any decline in oil sales, saying Iran set a record for crude exports in the Iranian month of Dey (Dec21–Jan. 20).

Earlier this month, the US Treasury imposed sanctions on Paknejad, breaking with its usual practice of sparing senior political officials. The move was part of a broader effort to tighten enforcement on Iranian oil exports, which Washington says help fund Tehran’s military and security forces, including the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC).

Paknejad’s comments on Saturday also follow a report earlier this week from Iraq’s Oil Minister Hayan Abdel-Ghani, who said that Iranian tankers intercepted by US forces in the Gulf were found to be using forged Iraqi documents.

"We received verbal inquiries about oil tankers detained by US naval forces. It turned out these tankers were Iranian and were using fake Iraqi manifests," Abdel-Ghani said on Iraqi state TV.

Iran denied the claim, saying its oil exports are conducted “within accepted trade frameworks,” and reaffirmed its position in a call between Paknejad and his Iraqi counterpart on Friday.

The dispute comes amid a broader US effort to crack down on alleged fuel smuggling and sanctions evasion by Iranian-linked networks. In December, Reuters reported that a smuggling network using forged documents was generating at least $1 billion annually for Iran and its allies in Iraq.