First Vice President Es’haq Jahangiri said today that Iran’s oil exports have hugely declined due to U.S. sanctions but did not disclose how much oil is being exported now to keep it secret from those who are not “trusted to know”.

Speaking at a ceremony at Tehran Chamber of Commerce Jahangiri said sanctions, structural problems in Iran’s economy, and mismanagement are causing problems but Iran can overcome the difficulties “if there is a united will”. Iranian officials claim stopping Iran’s oil exports completely through sanctions is “an American dream”.

“We should hear the same voice from the administration and the rest of the government entities in the current circumstances when people are living in hardship but politicians are speaking against each other. People are bewildered and asking if they have been forgotten,” he was quoted by the Iranian Students News Agency (ISNA) as saying. “We should not allow the Iranian nation feel as if there is no future,” he added.

According to data Kepler oil tanker tracking and intelligence firm provided to Radio Farda Iran’s oil exports in November dropped to 213 barrels per day two-thirds of which was sent to China and one-third to Syria. Iran is currently exporting 100-300,000 barrels per day.

It is not clear whether these countries are paying for Iran’s oil or not and if they do, how. Before U.S. sanctions Iran exported 2.5m barrels of crude oil per day which has now dropped to between 100 to 300,000 barrels. Iran’s revenues from oil exports amounted to more than $60b in 2018.

The “huge decline in oil exports” admitted by Jahangiri can put the administration of President Hassan Rouhani in a very difficult situation. The administration is counting on exporting one million barrels of oil per day to meet its obligations in the next fiscal year (March 21, 2020- March 20, 2021).