TEHRAN - Iranian Oil Minister Gholam Hossein Nozari announced that the country aims to reduce its crude oil exports as a way to hike export of other oil products, terming it the strategy of the Islamic Republic.

Noting that Iran plans to become the biggest producer of petrochemical products in the region, Nozari reiterated that the country is capable of producing 4.3 mln barrels of crude oil per day.

He described building of additional petrochemical installations in Iran as highly important, specially when considering that a number of western states have threatened to stop fuel supplies to Iran.

The US has declared that it is mulling a legislation to ban gasoline exports to Iran in a move to put more pressure on the country to halt its nuclear program.

Iran and the US-led West are in the midst of a row over Tehran's progress in civilian nuclear technology. Washington and its allies accuse Iran of seeking military drives, although they have never presented any substantiating evidence to establish their claims.

Iran denies the charges, saying that it needs to develop new sources of energy to export more crude and increase revenues for its growing population.