US sanctions on Iran are 'unproductive' and 'wrong', Russia's energy minister says

Sanctions are set to be re-imposed on Iran's oil industry on November 4 after Mr Trump decided to withdraw the US from international nuclear deal the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JPCOA) in May.

The US has warned any countries or companies which conducts transactions with Iran they are liable to face secondary sanctions.

Speaking at last week’s Eastern Economic Forum in Vladivostok, Mr Novak said: "Our position remains that this is unproductive, this is wrong.

"It is better to continue working in the market, Iran being just another exporter that provides stable supplies to the market.

"It is one of the richest in resources and has a solid standing in terms of its energy capability both in the OPEC, and in the energy markets as a whole.

“So, I think there will be consequences, I am sure, but we could only comment once they are in place.”

The move is predicted to have a huge detrimental effect on Iran’s oil industry, curtailing production by more than one million barrels a day, with resulting increases in the price of oil a definite possibility.

Mr Novak was reluctant to speculate on what the consequences would be, explaining that he was still waiting to "learn the legal particulars" and effects the sanctions would have.

He added: "We do not know how companies will react, how countries that engage with Iran will react.

“We will have to see the actual adopted documents/sanctions.”

The US wants oil-producing countries like Saudi Arabia and Russia boost oil production to cover any shortfall which results from the severe restrictions which are being placed on Iran’s ability to trade in order to prevent prices being pushed up too much.

US Secretary of Energy Rick Perry met Mr Novak in Moscow on Thursday but there has been no confirmation as to whether they discussed the plan sanctions or what impact they would have.

A statement issued by the US simply said they had talked "discussed ways in which America and Russia, two of the world's top producers of natural gas and leading producers of oil can work together to ensure world energy market stability, transparency, and sustainability."

The US and Russia are currently locked in an energy supply battle, especially in Europe.

Mr Trump is a critic of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline, by which Russian gas is supplied to Germany.

The statement added: "Secretary Perry made clear that while the United States welcomes competition with Russia in energy markets across Europe, Asia and elsewhere, Moscow can no longer use energy as an economic weapon.

"The United States is now in a position to offer these nations an alternative source of supply."

Tensions between United States and Iran have been heightened for decades, ever since the Ayatollah Khomeini seized power in an Islamic fundamentalist revolution in 1979.

However, they have worsened still since Mr Trump because President, and his decision to quit the JPCOA deal and revive sanctions has enraged Tehran.

Speaking earlier today, Iran’s nuclear chief Ali Akbar Salehi told the annual meeting of the International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA): “This ominous move is doomed to have serious repercussions for regional and international peace and security.”