Paknejad said on Monday that claims by US President Donald Trump that the US naval blockade on Iran has caused explosions in the country’s oil wells, supposedly because it has been forced to shut the wells, are just laughable.
“Industry experts are laughing at US claims. Which explosion are they talking about?” he said.
The minister said that Iran faced no obstacles in exporting oil during the 39-day US-Israeli aggression that ended in a ceasefire on April 8.
He said that after the ceasefire and upon the start of the US blockade, the country faced some challenges, but measures were adopted to keep oil exports going.
Paknejad was speaking to reporters after a government meeting to discuss plans to prevent a shortage in gasoline supplies because of the ongoing confrontation with the US and the Israeli regime.
He said during the meeting that reducing gasoline consumption was necessary for Iran to be able to handle the shocks caused to the supply because of the US-Israeli aggression.
However, the oil minister told reporters that claims about a decline in Iran’s oil production or the impacts suffered by the country’s petroleum industry because of the war of aggression show that “the enemy is full of delusions.”
The remarks come against the backdrop of repeated claims by Trump and other US government officials that the blockade on Iran’s ports has seriously affected the country’s ability to pump oil and led to irreversible damage to oil wells and installations.
This comes as data from international tanker-tracking services have shown that Iranian oil exports via its maritime fleet have continued despite the blockade. At the same time, the country has developed other solutions, including overland transport, to supply oil to foreign customers.
Press TV