Energy Headlines

Iran would be willing to impose a hydrocarbon embargo if there were a final deal in the nuclear talks with the West and international sanctions were not lifted, Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said Wednesday.

"If we do not resist, the enemy will put conditions on our nuclear program and impose sanctions," Khamenei was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

"If it's going to be sanctions, the Iranian nation will impose sanctions on them in future. Iran owns the biggest oil and gas reserves in the world."

"Europe and the world need the gas. Iran can impose sanctions on them, if it becomes necessary," Khamenei said.

"The enemy is using sanctions as much as possible. Their goal is to stop the [Iranian] people's progress. I believe that even if the nuclear issue turns out the way they are dictating, the sanctions will not be removed because they are against the nature of the revolution," Khamenei added.

He also urged the country, whose economy is heavily dependent on oil revenues, to pursue other sources of revenue.

"The dependence of the budget on oil must be cut and the reliance should be focused on the domestic economy, meaning national products, and tax. Tax is a duty. Today we take tax from the weak, but some businessmen escape tax. This is a crime," he said.

In the face of low oil prices and oil exports cut by international sanctions, Iran could face a severe budget deficit in its next year that starts March 21.

The government has already tightened its belt by planning to boost non-oil exports, and raise tax collection.

Parliament, which is currently debating the budget bill, has amended the oil price assumption for calculating the budget to around $40/barrel from the government's initial proposal of $72/b.