By Ladanne Nasseri

Source:

September 30, 2010

Iran exported its first domestically produced gasoline to neighboring Iraq, Ali Asghar Arshi, the National Iranian Oil Co.’s director of international affairs, told the state-run news agency.

Iran says it has countered sanctions that target its historic need to import gasoline and can now produce more than enough of the fuel.

Iran’s Oil Ministry said two days ago that it has exported its first load of gasoline, adding yesterday that four more shipments would soon be made.

The Persian Gulf country, the second-largest oil producer in the Middle East after Saudi Arabia, previously relied on imports for as much as 40 percent of its gasoline as it lacked the refining capacity to meet consumption.