Western Sanctions Nearly Halve Iranian Crude Oil Exports

Western sanctions imposed on Tehran over its nuclear program have nearly halved Iran's crude oil export revenue since 2011, US Energy Information Administration (EIA) said Wednesday.

MOSCOW (Sputnik) – For years, the West has accused Tehran of hiding nuclear weapon development under the guise of a peaceful nuclear energy program. Anti-Iran sanctions imposed by the United States and the European Union in 2011-2012 banned sales of Iranian oil to the European Union and some parts of Asia. The sanctions also prohibited the West’s nuclear cooperation and arms trade with Iran.

In 2011, before the sanctions were introduced, Iran exported over 2.6 million barrels per day. In 2014 exports amounted to 1.4 million per day, the EIA said.

The oil export cut is primarily related to European Union deliveries, the ban on which reduced the total export amount by 587,000 barrels per day.

Iran is a member of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), an economic union accounting for about 40 percent of the world’s crude oil output.

In 2014, OPEC revealed that Tehran had substantially decreased petroleum exports, and the impact of international restrictions on Iran’s oil sales would deepen. At the time Tehran’s negotiations with P5+1 group were deadlocked as the six powers and Iran failed to reach a nuclear agreement.

In April, Iran and the P5+1 group of world powers, including the United States, Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom and Germany, worked out a political framework agreement on the Iranian nuclear program.

Under the deal, Tehran pledged to cut back its uranium enrichment and decrease the number of centrifuges in the country. In exchange, the West is obliged to gradually lift sanctions imposed on the Islamic republic.