Iran claims it has overcome sanctions

The U.N. and West have imposed tough economic sanctions on Iran to try to persuade it to stop its uranium enrichment project, including a ban by the EU on oil imports, but Iran remains defiant.

Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi that the industry was in "bad shape" about two months ago because of the oil embargo, "but resorting to planning in the oil industry, we left the bottleneck behind, almost." The EU imposed its embargo in July.

Ghasemi said Iran's oil sector would be able to export its oil to the "farthest spots" around the world. In contrast, China, India and Korea recently announced that they have cut back their oil imports from Iran to comply with international sanctions.

Ghasemi also said that Iran has set up its own insurance for oil tankers after Western companies refused to cover them.

"By revoking insurance, the West disrupted transportation of oil, the most important part" of trade, Ghasemi was quoted as saying.

He said since a large portion of Iran's revenue comes from oil exports, "the embargo is a very important issue."