Donald Trump DISASTER as Iran discovers oil - sanctions campaign disrupted

IRAN has discovered oil in the southwest region of the country for the first time – putting paid to Donald Trump’s crippling sanctions after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear pact.

The middle eastern country has discovered oil in the country's southwestern Abadan region for the first time. Iran’s Mehr news agency quoted Oil Minister Bijan Zanganeh confirming the find Wednesday. Crude was found at a depth of 3,570 metres in an exploratory well and is "very light and sweet", Zanganeh reportedly said.

The minister was quoted as saying: "This is the first time we've reached oil in the Abadan region.”

But the news will anger US president Donald Trump, who placed crippling sanctions on the country’s oil exports after the US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal in 2017.

Mr Trump imposed sanctions to choke Iran's oil and banking industries, while temporarily allowing eight customers to keep buying crude from the Islamic Republic.

Iran is one of the world’s largest exporters of oil and the Trump administration’s suffocating restrictions affected the world’s supply of the commodity.

In September last year, a 30 percent rise to a huge $95 (£74) dollars a barrel was forecast.

The price of a barrel of US crude oil was predicted to rise by $4 (£3.12) a gallon of unleaded fuel at petrol station pumps.

This month, Iran’s central bank has contemplated removing four zeros from the currency since 2008.

But the idea has recently gained ground as the rial has lost more than 60 percent of its value in 2018.

The central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati said: “A bill to remove four zeros from the national currency was presented to the government by the central bank yesterday and I hope this matter can be concluded as soon as possible.”

The US President vowed to put “maximum pressure” on Iran’s economy to force it to accept tougher limits on its nuclear and missile programmes.

But Iran has consistently ruled Trump's demands out.

Following the sanctions, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said over 20 countries had cut their imports of Iranian oil, shrinking Iran’s exports by about one million barrels a day.

Source: Express