Iran warns EU will pay a higher cost under oil embargo

TEHRAN,June 16(MAN) – Looming EU oil sanctions against Iran will result in a higher cost for Europe, Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi warned on Thursday in sideline of latest output meeting in Vienna. "The European citizens will pay more costs," Ghasemi told reporters in Vienna, when asked about the sanctions which will apply from July 1. Ghasemi added that the country is taking advantage of the West’s sanctions against the Islamic Republic’s oil sector to be turned into an exporter of oil products. “We were exporting gasoline and gas oil by the past year, but we are now exporting these products. This is an opportunity which has been created as a result of sanctions,” the Shana News Agency quoted Ghasemi as saying. “We are manufacturing all the needed equipment inside the country. Iranian contractors are working on large oil projects,” he continued. Global sanctions against Iran not only have not any hindering effect on the country’s oil industry, but also have turned the Islamic republic into an exporter of equipment and goods, Ghasemi stated. “Despite all threats of the enemies, there is no concern regarding development of the oil industry relying on expertise and knowledge of Iranian scientists,” he said. Many countries around the world are permanent customers of Iranian oil and we are not worried about selling oil to them, he added. Ghasemi said earlier that the country is approaching “total self-sufficiency” in the production of equipment required in the country's oil industry. “Much of the equipment needed for oil industry is being produced by domestic manufacturers,” he added, Press TV reported. Ghasemi said that the global economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic will not be effective to hinder the country’s oil industry progress. Iranian manufacturers will supply oil industry with $10 billion worth of domestically-made goods and equipment in the current calendar year, which began on March 20, the head of the association of oil industry equipment manufacturers said. “The West has imposed sanctions on the country’s oil industry, thinking that they can restrict Iran’s economic activities,” Sirous Talari added, the Pana News Agency reported.