Iran will continue exporting oil despite US sanctions, says president

US President Donald Trump announced last week Washington will no longer grant sanctions exemptions to Iran's oil customers, intending to "bring Iran's exports to zero, denying the regime its principal source of revenue".

"America's decision that Iran's oil exports must reach zero is a wrong and mistaken decision, and we won't let this decision be executed and operational," Rouhani said in a speech broadcasted live on state TV.

"In future months, the Americans themselves will see that we will continue our oil exports."

Rouhani added it is ordinary Iranians who are feeling the pressure from US sanctions, Reuters reported.

Oil prices skyrocketed after the White House announced an end to the sanctions waivers. Eight governments, among them Washington's allies like India, were initially given six-month reprieves from the unilateral US sanctions on Iran.

The White House said that Saudi Arabia and the UAE - who back Trump's hawkish stance against regional rival Iran - would work to make up the difference in oil to ensure that global markets are not rocked.

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif said on Sunday one of it's "numerous options" after Trump's sanctions announcement is to pull out of the landmark 2015 nuclear deal.

President Donald Trump withdrew from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) with world powers last year and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran. The deal, negotiated by his predecessor Barack Obama, agreed Iran would drastically scale back its nuclear programme in return for promises of sanctions relief.

US officials say that they are aiming at choking off Iranian revenue so as to reduce the clerical regime's regional clout, notably its support for militants groups such as Lebanon's Hizballah.

Agencies contributed to this report.

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