Sources reject reports about decline in Iran’s oil exports to China

Different sources have rejected reports according to which Iran has declined oil exports to China, demanding higher prices.

Reuters said in a Friday report that Iran has informed China in early December that it will reduce the discounts for its oil sales to the country in December and January.

Chairman of Iran-China Joint Chamber of Commerce Majid-Reza Hariri, however, said that Iran's oil discounts to China have been falling during the past year.

He said that Iran's oil exports are at the highest and the hue and cry will have no effect on the Iranian oil sales.

He told IRNA correspondent on Saturday that due to the sanctions imposed on Tehran, oil discounts have to remain secret.

Alireza Sotoudeh, an energy expert, also believes that given the rise in China’s refining capacity and the increase in Iran’s oil production, the reports on halting the country’s exports are not true.

He stressed that Reuters has fabricated the news in order to create a psychological atmosphere inside Iran and to get more accurate information about Iranian oil sales by reactions of the Iranian authorities to this news.