Iran New Budget Bucks U.S. Embargo

TEHRAN, Iran (AP) – Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani says his country will depend less on oil revenue next year, in a new budget that is designed to resist crippling U.S. sanctions. Rouhani said on Sunday at Parliament’s opening session that the U.S. and Israel will remain “hopeless” despite their goal of weakening Iran.áHe said Iran’s budget in the next fiscal year will also benefit from a $5 billion loan from Russia that’s being finalized. The U.S. re-imposed sanctions that block Iran from selling its crude oil abroad, following President Trump’s decision to withdraw from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers.