OPEC’s third-largest producer is unable to bring in dollars or euros in exchange for crude because of “banking problems,” Asadollah Karekhani, the spokesman for Parliament’s energy commission said. It will accept as payment goods including medical equipment and agricultural products. “We have informed our oil customers that we will only buy their commodities if they buy our crude,” Karekhani said.
Iran resorted to barter during the last round of U.S. and European sanctions that were in place from 2012 to 2016. At that time, the sanctions restricted the amount of oil consumers could buy from Iran and used financial constraints to keep payment for the crude in escrow accounts in the purchasing country.
