NYTimes | Besieged by international sanctions over the Iranian nuclear program including a planned oil embargo by Europe, Iran warned six European buyers on Wednesday that it might strike first by immediately cutting them off from Iranian oil.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said the threat was conveyed to the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal in separate meetings at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Officials said in an earlier report by Press TV, Iran’s state-financed satellite broadcaster, that Iran had already cut supplies to the six countries was inaccurate — but not before word of the Press TV report sent a brief shudder through the global oil market, sending prices up slightly.
“Iran warns Europe it will find other customers for its oil,” the Islamic Republic News Agency said. “European people should know that if Iran changes destinations of the oil it gives to them, the responsibility will rest with the European governments themselves.”
Last month the European Union decided to impose an oil embargo on Iran as of July 1 as part of a coordinated campaign of Western sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran to halt its disputed uranium enrichment program, and the Europeans have been making arrangements since then to find other sources.
The European Union has been one of Iran’s biggest markets for oil, taking about 18 percent of total Iranian petroleum exports in 2011. Among the European Union members, the biggest buyers have been Italy, Spain and France.
Iran’s official Islamic Republic News Agency said the threat was conveyed to the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, the Netherlands, Greece and Portugal in separate meetings at the Foreign Ministry in Tehran. Officials said in an earlier report by Press TV, Iran’s state-financed satellite broadcaster, that Iran had already cut supplies to the six countries was inaccurate — but not before word of the Press TV report sent a brief shudder through the global oil market, sending prices up slightly.
“Iran warns Europe it will find other customers for its oil,” the Islamic Republic News Agency said. “European people should know that if Iran changes destinations of the oil it gives to them, the responsibility will rest with the European governments themselves.”
Last month the European Union decided to impose an oil embargo on Iran as of July 1 as part of a coordinated campaign of Western sanctions aimed at pressuring Iran to halt its disputed uranium enrichment program, and the Europeans have been making arrangements since then to find other sources.
The European Union has been one of Iran’s biggest markets for oil, taking about 18 percent of total Iranian petroleum exports in 2011. Among the European Union members, the biggest buyers have been Italy, Spain and France.
8 comments:
Portugal, Italy, Greece, and Spain...,
Yep, or PIIGS to include Ireland. But why would Iran threaten them? Personally, I'd throw up both my middle fingers to Germany and France ...
Because these same scrubs whose governments are in process of bending them over to pick up the soap for European Central Bankers, are also allying them with the Amerisraeli economic sanctions regime against Iran.
As for the middle fingers, well, Papandreou tried to play hard for about half a hot minute and then http://subrealism.blogspot.com/2011/11/dayyum-papandreou-picked-up-soap.html
Thus far, only Iceland has flipped off the Central Bankers, reaped the consequences, http://subrealism.blogspot.com/2011/11/consent-needed-for-debt-repayments.html and subsequently fallen off the mainstream radar....
Yep, I gotcha on all those points. My issue is... why threaten the PIGS when it's the farmer buying the feed?
Dale, I'm beyond lost trying to fathom your point. EU countries threaten to enact (or at the very least facilitate) economic warfare against Iran, and your recommendation is that Iran do what exactly?
Why should Iran give a crap about the worthless castoff PIGS? I'd say fsck you directly to the ECB -- France and Germany. They're the one's bending the PIGS over to begin with.
France and the Netherlands are being cut off too. Apparently Germany doesn't get its texas tea from Iran.
Ahh, gotcha. I thought Iran was simply posturing. As Clausewitz essentially said, all war is all out war.
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