Iranian lawmakers denounce EU bans on Iran oil

A total of 220 lawmakers of the 290-member Majlis, in a statement released on Tuesday, described EU's decision to embargo Iranian oil supplies as ‘vindictive’, and an example of the 27-member bloc’s animosity and hostility towards the Islamic Republic.

The statement also read that Iran has weathered Western pressures over the past 30 years, and will not give in to bullying.

All countries are entitled to develop and use nuclear energy for peaceful purposes under the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) safeguards. Therefore, EU sanctions on Iran's oil exports contravene international principles and the NPT, the Majlis communiqué stated.

The statement further noted that the Iranians have long converted sanctions into opportunities and made progress. The EU should come to realize that Iranian businessmen and merchants do not intend to do business with the union, and European traders are the main losers of recent anti-Iran sanctions.

On January 23, the EU agreed to ban oil imports as well as petroleum products from Iran and freeze the assets of the Central Bank of Iran across the EU.

The European Union also imposed a ban on the sale of diamonds and gold and other precious metals to Iran.

Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said on June 30 that his country is completely prepared to counter EU sanctions on the Iranian oil sector.

“Iran's oil has its own markets, and, to counter the sanctions, all potential options have been worked out by the government,” he said.

Qasemi added that the sanctions against Iran's oil have existed for many years, stressing that it would be wrong to consider that the sanctions started as of Sunday.

He emphasized that Iran is still selling its oil in the international markets and “a part of the oil sales to Europe had been cut by Iran ahead of the sanctions taking effect.”
irna/281