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Iran claims it has overcome sanctions

Published: December 23, 2012 Comment on this article

Iran's oil exports have fallen by about half in recent months due to the punitive oil and banking measures enacted by the U.S. and Europe over concerns Tehran might pursue production of nuclear weapons. Iran denies that it is developing weapons, saying its nuclear activities are aimed at peaceful purposes like power generation and cancer treatment.

Before the fall of exports, some 80 percent of Iran's foreign revenue had come from oil sales. The drop has contributed to a plummet in the country's currency has plummeted to less than half its former value.

Due to longstanding U.S. sanctions on Iran's oil industry, the country has been suffering from lack of technology and equipment in its oil sector, but a senior official said that problem, too, is being solved.

Ahmad Qalehbani, head of state-owned National Iranian Oil Company, told the semi-official ISNA news agency that the country is capable of producing its own equipment for 85 percent of its needs in the oil industry.

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