Shafaq News/ Iran's oil minister, Javad Owji, said on Sunday the country is exporting crude oil to 15 nations, defying US sanctions aimed at curbing its nuclear program.

Owji, in a post by the Ministry's official account on X, said that Iran's revenue from oil, gas and petrochemicals surged to $65 billion in the Iranian fiscal year that ended March 20, 2024, up from $30 billion in 2020.

He also pointed to Iran's success in boosting natural gas production by 5.2% annually in recent years, exceeding the global average of 2.5%, despite Western sanctions.

Former President Donald Trump reinstated US sanctions that were eased under an international deal on Tehran's nuclear program when he withdrew in 2018.

Washington's sanctions on Iran already ban nearly all US trade with the country, block the government's assets in the US and prohibit US foreign assistance and arms sales, according to the Congressional Research Service (CRS).

Thousands of people and companies, both Iranian and foreign, have been targeted under the sanctions program as Washington has sought to constrain Iran's government and change its behavior, the CRS said in a report last year.

US says it has concerns about Iran's nuclear program, human rights abuses, and support of groups the US sees as terrorists.

"US sanctions on Iran are arguably the most extensive and comprehensive set of sanctions that the United States maintains on any country," the CRS said.