Azernews.Az

Iranian president Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said managing the country without relying on oil export revenues is possible, IRNA news agency reported.

During a public speech in Bandar Abbas city, Hormozgan Province, on May 16, Ahmadinejad said there are 187 million square meters of cultivable lands in the country, while only 14 million square meters are used for cultivation.

"Increasing cultivation of lands and preparing suitable strategies for the agriculture sector may easily create conditions for putting an end to Iran's dependence on oil export incomes," the president said.

According to official statistics, the agricultural sector accounts for only 10 percent of Iran's Gross Domestic Product, while Iran deeply depends on a huge amount of wheat and rice imports.

Ahmadienejad's statement about possibility of cutting oil export revenues came while some American lawmakers and analysts are pushing the White House to tighten pressure on Iran by enforcing full oil sanctions over the country to halt its oil export incomes.

Congressional leaders prodded the Obama administration on May 15 to tighten the squeeze on Iran's economy, saying that even last year's dramatic sanctions against Iranian banks and oil companies weren't enough to stop the Islamic republic's nuclear advances, The Washington Post reported.

Oil exports make up 80 percent of Iran's total export earnings and 50-60 percent of the government revenue, according to the Economist Intelligence Unit.

The United States Energy Information Administration said on March 28 that Iran sold $69 billion worth of crude oil and condensate; this figure was $95 billion in 2011.