Iran’s Oil Sales to Reach $5 Bn in 2020

A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf, Iran, (File Photo: Reuters)
A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf, Iran, (File Photo: Reuters)
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Iran’s Oil Sales to Reach $5 Bn in 2020

A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf, Iran, (File Photo: Reuters)
A gas flare on an oil production platform in the Soroush oil fields is seen alongside an Iranian flag in the Gulf, Iran, (File Photo: Reuters)

Iran lost $115 billion in oil exports and non-oil revenues, and the country’s crude oil sales this year will reach five billion dollars at best, according to an Iranian economic official.

Iran’s total oil and non-oil exports will reach $35 billion this year, whereas its foreign currency expenditures amount to $50 billion annually, the chairman of Iran-China Chamber of Commerce, Majidreza Hariri, was quoted by ILNA news agency.

The official warned that his country will face a currency crisis for years if exports are not doubled, expressing concern that the income does not commensurate with spending.

Hariri indicated that statistics of the past six months show that export revenues will be $30 billion until the end of the year, noting that Iranian revenues had dropped to $10 billion, compared to $40 billion in the last year.

The Iranian official did not reveal the details of Iranian oil sales in light of the US sanctions that prevent Tehran from exporting oil.

Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Zangeneh had earlier refused to disclose details of oil exports as well.

Last June, Iran VP Eshaq Jahangiri said that his country's oil revenues fell from $100 billion to $8 billion last year.

Hariri believes that Iran will get between $35 and $40 billion at best, while foreign currency expenditures are $50 billion in the event of austerity.

He recommended reducing the government’s spending policy to be able to manage matters “in any way possible” until the end of the year.

The expert believes the government will not be able to do something under the sanctions, noting that political decisions in the country are taken by the regime. He warned that if the current situation persists, things will be more difficult in the coming year.

Last Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said that Iran’s economy is in a better state than Germany’s, which was highly ridiculed on social media.

US President Donald Trump said last month he aims to bring Iranians back to the negotiating table due to the economic sanctions that brought Tehran on the brink of bankruptcy, indicating that the country’s GDP recorded negative growth of 24 percent.

Rouhani responded by saying the negative rate did not exceed 0.06 percent.



Humanitarian Needs Remain Pressing a Month After Myanmar’s Deadly Quake 

Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
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Humanitarian Needs Remain Pressing a Month After Myanmar’s Deadly Quake 

Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)
Volunteers help to clear collapsed buildings after one month of the strong earthquake in Naypyitaw, Myanmar, Monday, April 28, 2025. (AP)

The humanitarian needs of hundreds of thousands of survivors remain desperately pressing a month after Myanmar’s deadly earthquake, compounded by airstrikes that the military government is reportedly carrying out despite ceasefires meant to aid relief efforts during the country’s civil war.

The 7.7 magnitude March 28 quake hit a wide swath of the country, causing significant damage to six regions and states, including the capital, Naypyitaw. Myanmar’s Department of Meteorology and Hydrology reported Monday there had been 157 aftershocks after the big quake, ranging in magnitude from 2.8 to 7.5.

State-run MRTV television reported on Sunday the quake’s death toll had reached 3,769, with 5,106 people injured and 107 still missing. The earthquake left many areas without power, telephone or cell connections and damaged roads and bridges, in addition to tens of thousands of buildings.

In some quake-hit areas, bereaved relatives and friends of the disaster’s victims on Monday offered donations to monks, a Buddhist tradition to transfer merit and blessings to the deceased.

A report released Monday by the Myanmar Witness project of the London-based Centre for Information Resilience said the group had documented 80 post-quake airstrikes by the military across multiple regions, including 65 after the army declared its unilateral ceasefire on April 2, following similar declarations by its battlefield foes.

Myanmar has been in turmoil since the army’s 2021 takeover ousted the elected government of Aung San Suu Kyi, which led to nationwide peaceful protests that escalated into armed resistance, uniting pro-democracy activists and ethnic minority guerrilla groups that have long been fighting for autonomy

“Myanmar’s population was already on its knees after years of SAC aggression and armed conflict,” said Myanmar Witness project director Robert Dolan, referring to the military’s ruling State Administration Council. “The layers of suffering are hard to comprehend — we’ve seen regions wrecked by war and then the earthquake, only to sustain further damage from continued airstrikes.”

The shadow National Unity Government, the main opposition group coordinating resistance to military rule, said Saturday in a statement that the post-quake bombings “have primarily targeted civilian areas — markets, residential zones, Buddhist monasteries, and Christian churches — resulting in the deaths of over 200 civilians, including at least 24 children, from March 28 to April 19, 2025.”

The military government hasn’t directly commented on the airstrikes, but when it extended its ceasefire on April 22, it reserved the right to respond as “necessary” to certain activities by the resistance forces.

Independent evaluation of most war claims by either side is impossible, due to the military’s restrictions on reporting and the remoteness of where many incidents take place.

Dire living conditions

UN agencies and other humanitarian organizations, meanwhile, stress that living conditions remain dire for earthquake survivors. They note that even before the earthquake, the civil war had displaced more than 3 million people and left nearly 20 million in need.

“Critical needs remain for safe shelter, clean water and sanitation, physical and mental health care, comprehensive protection services and cash assistance,” the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said Friday in its latest situation report.

Many who lost their homes are still in makeshift tents with little to protect them from pre-monsoon storms ahead of the months-long rainy season, which normally begins in May, humanitarian services say.

“The delay in removing earthquake debris is increasing the risk of vector-borne diseases, as stagnant water and poor sanitation create breeding grounds for disease-carrying insects,” said the UN report. “Limited access to safe drinking water and clean sanitation poses a significant threat of waterborne diseases, compounded by the absence of rapid diagnostic tests, which delays the detection of potential outbreaks."

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said in a report released Monday that displaced people were living outdoors in temperatures of up to forty degrees Celsius (104 degrees Fahrenheit), with an overwhelming fear of further aftershocks.

Reconstruction starts In Naypyitaw, the damaged buildings of the labor and foreign ministries have been demolished for new construction, said a resident who asked not to be named for security reasons. Debris at markets and schools has been cleaned by municipal workers, while thousands of people, who lost their homes, were still living under tarpaulin sheets, he said.

He said that he was told that the departments and offices of several ministries will be temporarily relocated to Yangon, the country’s former capital and largest city, until their offices can be rebuilt.