Iran claims resilience despite sanctions

TEHRAN, Dec. 9 (UPI) -- Iran has made enough advancements in the domestic energy sector to claim the West is losing "the sanctions game," the country's oil minister declared.

The U.N. Security Council in June imposed new sanctions on Iran as punishment for a controversial nuclear program. The United States and European Union led Western allies in July by targeting Iran's energy sector in a series of unilateral sanctions.

Iran as a response switched many of its petrochemical plants to gasoline production in order to cope with the sanctions. Iranian Oil Minister Masoud Mir Kazemi said new oil refineries planned for the country and advancements in gasoline production meant the sanctions weren't working.

"(The) West has lost the sanctions game and the false news on the cause of pollution (from petrochemical plants) is the last ring of unconsidered sanctions," he was quoted by the Oil Ministry's Petroenergy Information Network as saying.

Iran in the wake of the sanctions said it didn't need to import gasoline anymore.

"Those who imposed sanctions against us thought that with would face gasoline shortages in October but now we are self-sufficient and face no problem with meeting gasoline needs inside the country," said Kazemi.

Critics say producing gasoline at petrochemical plants is a costly short-term fix.