Iranian Oil Minister Threatens to Boycott Europe

If Europe thinks it’s going to boycott Iranian oil, well then Iran plans to beat it to the draw and stop selling crude to Europe. That was the substance of a threat issued by Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi, who was quoted as saying Iran is considering banning oil exports to unspecified countries, although given the timing it was certain he meant Europe. The European Union agreed last week to impose an embargo of Iranian oil by July as part of a U.S.-led effort to rein in Tehran’s nuclear program “Soon we will cut exporting oil to some countries," the state news agency IRNA quoted Qasemi as saying. Ahmad Ghalebani, the head of the National Iranian Oil Company, said Iran could afford to cut its oil exports to Europe because it had “many other customers.” But Iran seemed to be in no rush to act on Qasemi’s threat: Parliament was supposed to take up discussion on the proposal on Sunday, but the debate was postponed. Meanwhile, India, the world’s fourth-largest oil consumer, said it would not cut petroleum imports from Iran despite the sanctions.