Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari on Sunday dismissed sanctions on gasoline exports to Iran as "inefficient," the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
"Iran possesses one of the greatest oil reserves in the world, therefore, no country can impose sanctions on Iran's gasoline," Nozari was quoted as saying.
In the meantime, "all the necessary measures for supplying the country's gasoline needs have been taken," he said.
Hojjatollah Ghanimifard, an official of National Iranian Oil Company, said last week that Iran is by no means concerned about any sanction on Iran's fuel demand.
Earlier, Iran's OPEC Governor Mohammad Ali Khataibi said Iran is a very important market for foreign suppliers and that "global oil commodity producers can not lose the Iranian market easily," according to local satellite Press TV.
In a fresh attempt, the Obama administration is considering the option of cutting off the supplies of gasoline and other refined oil products to Tehran if it refuses to negotiate on its disputed nuclear program.
Washington has been trying to beef up its sanctions against Tehran for being involved in anti-U.S. activities and allegedly developing nuclear weapons secretly.
Iran has denied the charges and insisted that its nuclear program is for generating electricity only. The UN Security Council has imposed three sanctions on Iran for its ongoing uranium enrichment program.
