ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq – Iran’s former oil minister on Wednesday described US President Donald Trump’s remarks regarding his recent resignation as “false claims,” saying the comments were made as a result of being "hit so hard" by the Iranian military.
Iran’s “oil minister just quit. He said 'We have no economy, we have no oil, we have nothing,'” US President Donald Trump said Tuesday, speaking to reporters. “Iran is doing very poorly. Their economy is gone. They have inflation of almost 300 percent.”
The comments came after President Masoud Pezeshkian approved the resignation of Iranian oil minister Mohsen Paknejad on Sunday and appointed Hamid Bovard as acting minister.
“My resignation has nothing to do with Trump's claims last night,” Paknejad said in a statement on Wednesday.
“They have been hit hard, so it is natural for them to resort to making such false claims,” he said, describing himself as “a soldier of the homeland.”
Paknejad was appointed as a presidential advisor on Tuesday, shortly after his resignation as minister.
Reacting to the developments, US Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent on Tuesday commented on the appointment of Bovard following Paknejad's resignation, asking rhetorically, "Considering Iran has not loaded a single barrel of crude onto a vessel since August 25th, what is the oil minister managing?"
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