“We have faced oil sales restrictions for years, which has led our oil industry to develop the necessary expertise to bypass these constraints,” said Mohsen Paknejad in response to a question about the potential activation of the snapback mechanism and its impact on Iranian oil sales. 

“The oil industry team can plan ways to sell oil under various restrictions, even under sanctions.”

He acknowledged that a snapback could push conditions to a point where new measures are required but emphasized, “We are not helpless in the face of these restrictions, and we will do our utmost.”

Regarding production levels, the minister stated, “I usually avoid citing production figures, but on average, the country’s crude oil production capacity has increased by 127,000 barrels per day over the past year.”

Paknejad also outlined quantitative production targets by the end of the current administration, noting that under the Seventh Development Plan, the goal is to reach production of approximately 4.58 million barrels per day, equivalent to a production capacity of 4.8 million barrels per day. “The planning and investments that will be made are all geared toward achieving this goal,” he said.