Tasnim � A former envoy of Iran to the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) called for efforts to diversify the oil export market and find new purchasers.

Iran should not confine itself to selling crude to the eight nations that have been granted sanctions waivers by the US, Mohammad Ali Khatibi said.

The former envoy to OPEC said Iran must try to maintain its oil export market beyond the limits set by the US, calling for efforts to find new customers for the Iranian crude.

�There is no barrier to (adoption of) special methods for exporting oil to more countries,� Khatibi explained.

He also raised the possibility that the exemption of the eight importers from the US sanctions might be extended after a 6-month period.

In November 2018, the US agreed to let eight countries, including India, China, South Korea and Japan, keep buying Iranian oil after re-imposition of unilateral sanctions on Tehran.