Iran's Oil Minister Paknejad acknowledges the oil sector has been hit by the U.S. blockade but insists countermeasures were pre-planned and are being rolled out.

Assessment

Paknejad's admission of damage from U.S. sanctions is a rare official concession, signaling that pressure is mounting on Iran's economy. His claim of pre-planned countermeasures is a bid to project control, but the real test is whether those measures can offset shrinking export revenues. Watch for signs of accelerated oil smuggling or deeper reliance on non-dollar trade channels.