Tehran warns responsibility for oil embargo will rest with EU

TEHRAN, Feb. 16 (MNA) – An Iranian Foreign Ministry official said that the European Union will be responsible for the consequences of its illogical decision to impose oil embargo against Iran. Hassan Tajik, the director of the Foreign Ministry’s Western Europe Department, made the remarks on Wednesday in comments on separate meetings that he held with ambassadors of Italy, Spain, Portugal, Greece, the Netherlands, and France, in which a range of issues, including the oil embargo that the EU imposed on Iran on January 23, were discussed. Dismissing the news reports saying that Iran has halted oil exports to a number of European countries, Tajik said, “Oil exports have not been halted yet, and we have made efforts to… inform European people of the fact that European governments will be responsible for the consequences of the decision.” An informed official at the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) told on Wednesday that Iran has halted oil exports to the Netherlands and France and has given an ultimatum to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece. “The Islamic Republic of Iran has stopped oil exports to France and the Netherlands,” the unidentified official said. The official added that the NIOC has given an ultimatum to Italy, Spain, Portugal, and Greece to extend their long-term contracts, saying, “If these countries ignore the ultimatum, Iran’s oil exports to these countries will be cut as well.” Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi announced on January 29 that Iran would cut oil exports to “certain countries” in the near future. The Iranian parliament has also prepared a plan calling for a halt to Iran’s oil exports to the European Union states that voted for sanctions on the country’s oil industry, which will reportedly be discussed in the parliament after Iran’s next parliamentary election, which is scheduled to be held on March 2.