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Iran Is Awash in Oil Money
(Ha'aretz) Yossi Melman - Iran's oil exports increased 40% in 2021 and the price of oil almost doubled. Iran's revenues from oil sales soared to $25 billion for the year. This is one of the reasons Iran has been procrastinating in recent months in talks on the nuclear deal. Israeli intelligence assesses that the chances of an agreement are slim. Even if some kind of deal is reached, it will be temporary and won't halt Iran's nuclear program. Iran's Oil Minister Javad Owji recently estimated that next month production will be restored to its level before the U.S. sanctions. China receives 75% of Iran's oil exports. Even the UAE purchased 12 million barrels of Iranian oil in 2021, contributing $600 million to the Iranian economy. The assessment of Israeli intelligence is that Iran, at least at this point, does not wish to manufacture nuclear weapons but does wish to be a nuclear threshold state - to be able to assemble nuclear weapons within a short time. In Israel, there is broad consensus that it has to try to prevent that.