TEHRAN, Oct. 28 (Xinhua) -- Iran's First Vice President Es'haq Jahangiri said Sunday that Iran is prepared to frustrate U.S. Nov. 4 sanctions on its crude exports.
The Iranian government has prepared plans to counter the impacts of returning U.S. sanctions by maintaining oil exports above one million barrels per day, Jahangiri was quoted as saying by Press TV.
"Iran exported as much as 2.5 million barrels per day of oil over the past months," he said, adding that "there had been a decline of a few thousand barrels per day. But we have always emphasized that Iran's exports should not decline below one million barrels per day."
Earlier in October, Jahangiri said that the United States was seeking to cut Iran's oil exports to zero and prevent Iran's imports of basic commodities, including raw materials.
Trump's goal by exerting energy sanctions on Iran was to minimize the country's sources of income in the current economic war against Iran, he said.
Jahangiri said that Iran has no concerns over the potential impacts of returning U.S. sanctions on its oil exports given that it is already selling its crude oil higher than the price tag it has set in its annual budget plan.
Following U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to quit the historic Iran nuclear deal on May 8, the United States vowed to reimpose sanctions lifted under the accord against Iran and inflict punishments like secondary sanctions on nations that have business links with Iran.
The U.S. State Department has set Nov. 4 as the deadline for international oil buyers to stop all their oil purchases from Iran. Otherwise they will face U.S. punishments.