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| Iran cuts oil exports to Europe. Oh wait, it doesn't... | |
| 2012-02-15 | |
| Iran struck back against a European oil embargo by cutting supplies to six European countries Wednesday as state media in Tehran said that President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was being briefed "on new nuclear achievements" expected to be announced later in the day. The oil cutoff affects the Netherlands, Spain, Italy, France, Greece and Portugal. The announcement appeared timed to convey the defiant message that the increasingly harsh Western economic sanctions imposed on Iran were having no effect on the government's determination to proceed with its disputed nuclear program. The defiant stance seemed ever more pronounced on Wednesday when Press TV, a state-financed satellite broadcaster, said Tehran planned to cut oil exports to the six European countries in response to the latest sanctions imposed by the European Union against Iran's energy and banking sectors No further details of the Iranian measures were immediately available. The Iranian response had been expected since late January when the European Union agreed to impose a phased ban on oil purchases from Iran that officials said was needed to help force a shift in policy and avert the risk of military strikes against Tehran. Under the embargo, European Union countries will not sign new oil contracts with Iran and will end existing ones by July 1. The ban will cover imports of crude oil, petroleum products and petrochemical products. It will also cover the export of major equipment and technology for the sector. The European market accounts for about a fifth of Iran's oil exports.
Underlining the high stakes and at times nervous confusion arising from the nuclear stand-off, Iran's Oil Ministry denied a state media report that it had cut off oil exports to six European Union states. Brent crude oil prices jumped up $1 a barrel to $118.35 in reaction to the announcement. "We deny this report ... If such a decision is made, it will be announced by Iran's Supreme National Security Council," a spokesman for the ministry told Reuters. | |
| Posted by:Steve White |
| #1 Decided they needed the cash, did they? |
| Posted by: Mullah Richard 2012-02-15 11:44 |