Addressing a Wednesday cabinet meeting, Dr. Rouhani said under the current circumstances, countries with more reliance on oil revenues would suffer more, but since Iran’s reliance on oil has been diminished, willingly or under the U.S. sanctions, the country’s losses will certainly be less.

The Iranian president noted that the whole world was economically and administratively struggling with the COVID-19 pandemic, adding, "Who would have thought that such a virus could upset the global economy,” he said.

Rouhani’s remarks came as the US benchmark WTI crude oil for May delivery was traded in the negative territory for the first time in the industry’s history.