EU postpones deadline to review Iran oil embargo impacts

PanARMENIAN.Net - The EU has postponed an April deadline to review the impacts of the bloc’s embargo on oil imports from Iran due to Greece's concerns on finding new oil suppliers, Press TV reports.

On January 23, EU foreign ministers agreed to impose new sanctions on Iran which included a ban on purchasing oil from the country, a freeze on the assets of Iran's Central Bank within the EU, and a ban on the sale of grains, diamonds, gold and other precious metals to Iran.

The sanctions are scheduled to become fully effective on July 1, 2012, to give EU member states enough time to adjust to new conditions and find alternative crude oil supplies.

The bloc was to review the impacts of the Iran oil embargo on the member states on May 1, but postponed the deadline by one month upon a request by Greece, which is facing “difficulty finding alternative suppliers” of oil.

"So far, Greece has come back to us saying that for the time being, they seem to have been able to handle and to keep the situation under control," AFP quoted a senior EU diplomat who spoke on the condition of anonymity.

"But precisely because there was this deadline in April they have asked for the possibility to come back to this issue in May or maybe even in June and this has been accepted by all member states," the source added.

In a move to counter the measures, Tehran decided to cut its crude exports to certain European countries and has already halted oil sales to France and Britain.