Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Sunday announced that a new oil field has been discovered in the country's south that could boost its proven reserves by a third.
"We have discovered a new big oil field with 53 billion barrels of reserves," Rouhani said in his speech delivered in the central city of Yazd, according to official media.
According to oil giant British Petroleum, Iran's proved oil reserves reached 157.2 billion barrels by the end of 2017, ranking it fourth in the world.
Iran's crude oil exports have plunged due to re-imposed sanctions by the United States aimed at forcing Tehran to accept stricter limits on its nuclear activity.
Rouhani emphasized in his speech that Iran "will not yield to enemy pressure."
