Iran's Minister of Petroleum Bijan Zangeneh has stated that cutting purchases from the Islamic Republic would affect the international oil market.
"Iran's oil supply to the market is up to 2.5 million barrels a day, and the removal of this amount would definitely affect the market," Zangeneh was quoted as saying by the Fars news agency on Saturday, adding that "Mr. Trump talks too much," referring to the US president's remarks in a document extending an embargo on oil supplies from the Middle Eastern state first introduced in 2012.
The minister's statement comes amid a memorandum sent by US President Donald Trump last week to the US finance and energy ministers, saying that "there is a sufficient amount of oil and oil products from countries other than Iran, and this allows a significant reduction in the volume of oil and petroleum products that are purchased from Iran."
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Some 60 percent of Iranian oil is being supplied to Asia, while the rest goes to Europe. Iran, which is one of the world's largest energy resources' producers, has been taking steps to increase its oil production and exports amid gradual lifting of international sanctions following the historic JCPOA agreement that the P5+1 countries reached in mid-2015.
Last month, Donald Trump presented new the US strategy on Iran, adding that his administration decided not to certify that Tehran was in compliance with the nuclear deal. After Trump's announcement, many members of the P5+1 group yet again stated that they believe Iran was in compliance with the nuclear deal.
