(JTA) — An Iranian government minister acknowledged that Western sanctions are affecting the Islamic Republic’s economy.
Iran’s deputy oil minister, Ahmad Qalebani, told the official Iranian Students’ News Agency that Iran’s crude oil production in 2011 had declined from the previous year due to a lack of foreign investment stemming from the sanctions, The New York Times reported.
Iran is producing about 3.4 million barrels of oil a day this year, about half a million fewer than last year.
Other Iranian officials also said that sanctions against the country have been effective.
“We cannot pretend the sanctions are not having an effect,” Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi told the official Islamic Republic News Agency, according to The New York Times.
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