Iran to approve bill to halt oil exports to Europe

PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran's parliament is expected to approve a bill on Sunday, Jan 29, requiring the government to immediately halt oil export to Europe, in response to the EU embargo.

“The draft law to be debated in Iran's parliament stipulates for halting oil export to the European Union as early as next week,” Fars News Agency quoted Vice-Chairman of the Parliament's National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Hossein Ibrahimi as saying.

"On Sunday, the parliament will have to approve a 'double emergency' bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week," Ibrahimi said.

Also, member of the Parliament's Energy Commission Moayed Hosseini Sadr said that "if the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, the parliament will not delay a moment (in passing the bill)".

"If Iran's oil exports to Europe, which is about 18 percent (of Iran's total oil exports) come to a halt, the Europeans will surely be taken by surprise, and will understand the power of Iran and will realize that the Islamic establishment will not succumb to the Europeans' policies," he said.

Meantime, Iran's OPEC governor Mohammad Ali Khatibi told the Iranian labors news agency that the country might choose to raise the issue at the next meeting of the oil cartel.