MNA � Iranian Oil Minister Bijan Namdar Zanganeh said on Tuesday the country�s petroleum revenues had exceeded expectations by 25% in the first half of the current fiscal year (started on March 21).







Zanganeh added that his ministry would exert every effort to counteract the outrageous US sanctions against the Islamic Republic in various ways.

He also stressed that the United States cannot stop Iranian oil exports by imposing sanctions on Tehran.

Warning that such restrictions will affect the market�s stability, Zanganeh said, as long as the US targets Iran with sanctions, the volatility in the oil market will continue.

His words come in the wake of claims by US ally, Saudi Arabia, that Riyadh has the capacity to increase output to 12 million barrels per day (bpd) from the current 10.7 million bpd.

However, in his Monday interview with the state TV, Zanganeh said �as I have repeatedly said there is no replacement for Iranian oil in the market. Saudi Arabia and Russia�s output is near their highest level ever and they have no spare capacity to pump more to replace Iran�s oil.�