Iran prepares to raise oil exports if sanctions eased: State media report

Iran has instructed its oil ministry to prepare installations for production and sale of crude oil at full capacity within three months, state media said on Sunday, ahead of a possible easing of US sanctions after President-elect Joe Biden takes office.

They quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying that Iran exported more than two million barrels a day before US President Trump exited the 2015 nuclear deal with six powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions that have hit Iran’s economy hard by sharply cutting its vital oil exports.

Biden, who will take office on January 20, has said that he would return to the pact and would lift sanctions if Tehran returned to “strict compliance with the nuclear deal”.

Rouhani said on Sunday that his country was preparing for a speedy increase of its oil production, the official IRNA news agency reported.