Publish Date: 3 June 2014 - 11:54

Despite the US-led bans, the volume of Iran’s non-oil exports increased some 30 percent to hit over $8 billion in the first two months of the current Iranian calendar year (started March 21, 2014), new data show.

According to the latest data released by the Iranian Customs Administration, Tehran exported over USD 8.1 billion worth of non-oil commodities in the first two months of the current Iranian year, which is 29.18 percent up from the same period last year.

The country’s non-oil exports in the two-month period included USD 3.3 billion of gas condensates, nearly USD 2 billion of petrochemical products and more than USD 3 million of other goods, the report said.

The figures also show that China, Iraq, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Afghanistan and India were the main buyers of the Islamic Republic’s non-oil commodities.

The recent increase in the volume of Iran’s non-oil exports comes despite the illegal sanctions imposed against the Islamic Republic over the accusation that Tehran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran has categorically denied the claims.

In early 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

On January 20, the European Union Council suspended part of its sanctions against Iran according to the November 2013 Geneva nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, France, Britain, Russia, China – plus Germany