Iran's deputy oil minister Alireza Zeighami said the country will soon open the world’s largest refining unit despite the sanctions led by US targeting the nation's oil revenues.
The new Residual Fluid Catalytic Cracking (RFCC) unit of the Shazand Imam Khomeini Refinery in central Iran, has a capacity to purify and refine more than 90,000 barrels of oil per day.
The capacity of the new unit is expected to be twice the capacity of the world’s biggest RFCC unit which can process 45,000 barrels of oil per day, reported Press TV.
Iran has noted that the US, Israel and other allies have alleged that the country is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program and has imposed sanctions against it.
In early 2012, the US and European Union imposed sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors to prevent other countries from purchasing oil or dealing with the Central Bank of Iran.
On 6 February 2013, the US Treasury Department also announced new sanctions targeting Iranian oil revenues.
Iran has denied the nuclear allegations stating that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, the country can develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.