Iran can find substitutes for EU oil customers
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E-mail Xinhua, July 2, 2012
Iran's Deputy Oil Minister and Managing Director of the National Iranian Oil Company (NIOC) Ahmad Qalebani said Tehran can easily find new substitutes for European Union (EU) customers of Iranian crude, as the bloc's oil embargo against the Islamic republic starts to take effect from Sunday, the Press TV reported.
Qalebani expressed confidence that the implementation of the EU oil embargo poses no challenge to Tehran.
Also, Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi shrugged off the EU embargoes on the Iranian oil sector, saying that the Islamic republic is completely prepared to counter the sanctions, Press TV reported on Sunday.
Qasemi said that the sanctions against Iran's oil have existed for many years, stressing that it would be wrong to consider that the sanctions started as of Sunday.
He warned those who have imposed the oil sanctions on Iran and stated, "We have repeatedly said you (Westerners) shouldn't politicize the oil market because citizens of those countries that impose embargo will be hit the hardest."
Qasemi described as "irrational and illegal" the bid to impose sanctions on Iran and emphasized that the Islamic republic would pursue the issue through international bodies.
Western countries suspect that Iran is developing nuclear bombs under the cover of its nuclear program, while Iran insists on the program's peaceful nature.
In January, European Union foreign ministers approved new sanctions against Tehran to prevent EU member states from buying Iranian crude. The sanctions went into effect as of Sunday, July 1.
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