The head of Iran's Central Bank says the country has gained 5 billion dollars by excluding the US dollar from its currency basket and replacing it with the euro.

"Iran has considerably reduced the total of US dollars in its currency basket," said Mahmoud Bahmani in Tehran at the 3rd Seminar on Banking Services and Export on Monday.

Since October 2007, Iran has received 85 percent of its oil revenues in currencies other than the US dollar, while the country expresses determination to find a substitute for the US dollar for the remaining 15 percent of its oil revenues.

The Iranian government began preparing the ground for the dollar's replacement by the euro and other foreign exchanges in 2005.

The constant slide of the dollar coupled with the persisting economic crisis in the US has forced many countries to drop the currency in favor of a more stable and valuable one.

Saudi Arabia, South Korea, China, Venezuela, Sudan and Russia have taken steps to replace the US dollar in their foreign exchange reserves, as well.

MVZ/TG/DT