Iran Halts Oil Exports to 6 EU States - Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, Greece and Portugal.

Iran Halts Oil Exports to 6 EU States - Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, Greece and Portugal.(Fars).TEHRAN (FNA)- Iran stopped oil exports to Italy, Spain, Netherlands, France, Greece and Portugal, media reports said on Wednesday.According to a report by press tv, the move was in retaliation for the latest sanctions imposed by the EU against Iran's energy and banking sectors. Brent crude oil prices were up $1 a barrel to $118.35 shortly after the announcement. The announcement came after the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal and the Netherlands to protest at the EU's unilateral sanctions against Tehran over its peaceful nuclear program. The six European envoys were summoned to the foreign ministry on Wednesday. After months of debates, the EU member states reached an agreement in their meeting on January 23 to sanction oil imports from Iran and freeze the assets of Iran's Central Bank within the EU. Following the decision, EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton claimed that the sanctions are aimed at pressuring Iran to return to talks over its nuclear program. Despite Ashton's claims, Iran has always underlined its preparedness to resume talks with the West but has meantime stressed that it will never accept any precondition for such talks. The Iranian oil ministry in a statement late January downplayed the effects of the US and EU's unilateral oil sanctions against Tehran, and said such embargoes will merely harm the European economies and oil consuming countries. European sanctions against Iran's oil exports will affect world economy and hurt European and non-European countries, the statement said. "The hurried decision by EU states to use oil as a political tool will have a negative impact on the world economy and specially on the recovering European economies which are fighting to overcome the global financial crisis," it added. The statement continued that since just 18 percent of oil produced by Iran is exported to European countries, the Islamic Republic can easily replace new markets with the European market.Hmmmmm......."Sanctions that benefit "Nato Ally" Turkey.Read the full story here.