Iran Blocks Oil, Gas Exports to EU

Iran has restricted all exports of oil and gas to the European Union (EU) in retaliation to the Union’s embargo on the Iranian energy sector.

“Exports of crude oil, [natural] gas liquids (NGL) and gas condensate to the European countries which have taken hostile stances on Iran will be halted until further notice,” Oil Ministry Spokesman Alireza Nikzad-Rahbar said Sunday, Press TV quoted him as saying.  

He added that these “pre-emptive sanctions” against European countries would remain in place so long as they refuse to abandon their hostile policies against Iran and adopt logical positions instead.

Early last year, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran. The sanctions came into force in early summer 2012. On October 15, 2012, the EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on another round of sanctions against Iran.