DUBAI: Iran has halted oil exports to the UK and France, a oil ministry spokesman was quoted on Sunday as saying. The move means British and French companies will be forced to look elsewhere for oil. “Crude oil export to British and French companies have been stopped and we have found new customers instead,” Ali-Reza Nikzad-Rahbar said on the ministry's website without giving details. Iran had on threatened on a number of occasions to cut oil exports to European Union countries involved in the oil sanctions against Iran over its nuclear program, but no specific decision was taken. Media reports earlier this week that Iran had cut oil exports to France, Greece, Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands and Spain, were denied by the oil ministry. The ministry had reportedly only set an ultimatum and told the EU states that Iran would only accept long-term contracts for oil exports. Iran's parliament plans to approve a bill aimed at stopping oil sales to EU countries involved in the oil embargo initiative but the debate on the bill has been postponed to March. In January, EU foreign ministers decided on an embargo on Iranian oil and a freeze on the accounts of the Iranian central bank as a means of forcing Tehran to suspend its uranium enrichment activities. ** with dpa BM ShortURL: http://goo.gl/vfOUw Tags: Export, featured, France, Oil, UK Section: Business, Europe, Iran, Latest News
