TEHRAN, Sept. 17 (UPI) -- A recent gas deal with Venezuela will shield Iran from the effects of possible U.S.-backed sanctions on gasoline imports, the oil minister said.
Iranian Oil Minister Massoud Mir Kazemi said a recent deal for Iran to import gasoline from Venezuela would negate the impact of gasoline sanctions, the Mehr News Agency reports.
"We have stocked relatively enough gasoline and also we have signed deals with some countries such as Venezuela to purchase gasoline," he said.
Venezuela has joined a small group of exporters willing to defy Western pressure by exporting thousands of barrels of gasoline to Iran.
Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez signed a recent deal with his Iranian counterpart, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for gasoline. Venezuela will export around 20,000 barrels of gasoline to Iran each day beginning in October.
Despite sitting on some of the largest gas reserves in the world, Iran is only able to meet barely half of its gasoline demands.
Tehran in June 2008 implemented a gasoline rationing system and in May called for restrictions on personal vehicle usage.
U.S. lawmakers are set to consider additional sanctions on Iran that would punish foreign companies that export gasoline to Iran in an effort to persuade Tehran to abandon its nuclear enrichment activity.
