TEHRAN, Jan. 5 (UPI) -- An Iranian government spokesman said he expected the share of oil revenue designated in next year's budget to be down by about 30 percent.

The low price of crude oil is pushing economies like Russia's, which relies heavily on export revenue, toward the brink of recession. Iran historically has been a hawk in the global oil sector, advocating for a price per barrel of around $100.


Government spokesman Mohammad Bagher Noubakht said the share of oil revenues in the budget proposed for next year is down by about a third.

"Now the government has to try hard to pull two big stones -- inflation and recession -- out of the bottom of the well," he said Sunday.

Iran is restricted to exports of around 1 million barrels of oil per day under the terms of a multilateral agreement reached in November 2013. Last week, the government said non-oil exports from the beginning of the Iranian year, which starts in March, increased to $35 billion, or about 20 percent year-on-year.

Iran emerged from recession last month, which the government spokesman said came as a result of heavy government investments in national development projects. The economy, he said, is boasting two straight months of growth.

Iranian officials have said they envision a budget for the next calendar year based on oil priced at about $70 per barrel, about 20 percent higher than the current market price.

Mohammad Nahavandian, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani's chief of staff, said the share of oil in Iran's gross national product "is not so high."