Iran Says US Must Pay US$70 Billion Damages for Lost Oil Revenue

Iran said the U.S. owes it US$70 billion compensation for income lost as a result of sanctions on its oil exports, the state-run Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting reported on its website, quoting an advisor to the Supreme Leader.

The payment is a prerequisite for President-elect Joe Biden’s return to the nuclear deal that Donald Trump abandoned in 2018, Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, which advises Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, said.

The U.S. suspended sanctions waivers for purchases of Iranian oil in 2019. Exports, as high as 2.6 million barrels a day in 2017, dropped to 355,000 barrels a day last month, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Almost all of Iran’s shipments go to China.

Last month President Hassan Rohani signaled that reparations for sanctions damage needn’t be a strict precondition for reviving the 2015 agreement. - Bloomberg