Rouhani slams US calls to halt Iranian oil exports

By Ahmet Dursun

BERN, Switzerland (AA) - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has warned that if Iranian oil exports are halted by the U.S., those of the region’s other oil-producers would suffer a similar fate.

Speaking with Iranian expatriates in Switzerland on Tuesday, Rouhani criticized Washington’s stated goal of reducing Iranian oil revenues.

“The Americans say they want to halt Iran's oil exports, but they don't understand the implications of this,” Rouhani said, according to a statement released by his office.

In what appeared to be a veiled threat to rival oil-producers in the region, he added: “It's meaningless that Iran's oil cannot be exported while [the] region's oil is.”

He went on to assert that the U.S. would “bear the consequences” in the event that his country’s oil exports were halted.

On Monday, the U.S. State Department announced its intention to reduce Iranian oil revenue to zero.

“We have been clear with countries and companies around the world that we are bringing severe economic pressure on Iran until the regime changes its destabilizing policies," Brian Hook, senior policy advisor to U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, said.

Washington has been urging its allies to halt all Iranian crude oil purchases by November.

According to OPEC, Iran's crude oil production stood at some 3.8 million barrels per day in May, of which some 2 million barrels were exported.