Iran has discovered a vast oil field containing over 50 billion barrels. President Hassan Rouhani made the announcement live on state television Sunday.
The field in southwest Iran would be the country's second largest oil field. It could boost the country's crude oil reserves from roughly 150 billion to over 200 billion barrels.
Iran currently ranks as the fourth nation with the most proven oil reserves. This new field would move it into third place, passing Canada.
Iran's economy has been strained and its currency has sharply devalued since the U.S. pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and imposed sanctions against any country that buys Iran's oil.
Rouhani directed some of Sunday's announcement at the U.S., saying, "I am telling the White House that in the days when you sanctioned the sale of Iranian oil, the country's workers and engineers were able to discover 53 billion barrels of oil."
