Tajikistan's Ambassador to Tehran Dolat Ali Hatamov has announced his country’s readiness to buy crude oil from the Islamic Republic of Iran.

Speaking at a press conference in the capital Tehran on Thursday, Hatamov said that even though most of Tajikistan's oil demand is met by crude from Russia, Dushanbe is ready to import crude oil from the Islamic Republic.

Referring to the 5-km Anzab tunnel project jointly underway by Iran and Tajikistan, Hatamov said that the Islamic Republic has achieved a 90 percent progress in constructing the tunnel that will, upon completion, connect Dushanbe to Khujand in northern Tajikistan.

The Tajik official also emphasized the necessity of building a pipeline between Iran and Tajikistan in order to transfer Iran’s oil to different parts of the Asian country.

Iran’s Oil Ministry announced on February 19 that it had cut oil sales to British and French firms in response to an embargo by the European Union on Iranian oil.

European Union foreign ministers agreed to ban oil imports from Iran on January 23 and to freeze the assets of the Iranian Central Bank across the EU in a bid to pressure Iran over its nuclear program.

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