TEHRAN: Oil prices could rise as high as $150 a barrel because of the European Union ban on imports of Iranian crude, the countryÂ’s deputy oil minister said on Sunday.| Almost reads like a threat, doesn't it... |
IranÂ’s Parliament, meanwhile, postponed a vote on a bill requiring the government to immediately halt crude oil sales to Europe. A senior lawmaker said Iran is considering banning all oil exports to the EU for five to 15 years. Emad Hosseini said no draft bill had been drawn up but lawmakers were considering a preemptive ban on oil exports to the EU.
A member of Iran’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission said any ban would last at least five years. “We will change the threat into an opportunity for Iran and cut Iran’s oil supplies to the Europeans for five to 15 years,” Mohammad Karim Abedi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency on Sunday.