Iran Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani said Saturday Iran is "easily" selling its oil despite western sanctions because some countries have received waivers from the U.S. to import Iranian oil despite the measures.
Bahmani said Iran would take action against the sanctions, but did not specify what it had in mind. "We have not remained passive. For confronting the sanctions, we have plans in progress," he said.
The remarks by Bahmani, carried by the semiofficial Mehr news agency and quoted by the Associated Press, are the first reaction from a senior Iranian official on the day that the new sanctions go into effect.
According to the EU, all contracts for importing Iranian oil are halted as of Sunday, and European companies will no longer be involved in insuring Iranian oil.
Previous sanctions by the U.S. have cut exports of Iranian crude from about 2.5 million barrels a day last year to between 1.2 and 1.8 million barrels now, American officials said.
China, India, Japan, Malaysia, Singapore, South Africa, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Taiwan and Turkey have been given waivers from the U.S. regarding a complete boycott but pledged to "significantly reducing" oil imports from Iran.