South African Energy Minister Dipuo Peters blasted the US and the EU for imposing oil sanctions against Tehran, and said such embargos will inflict heavy losses on different world states, including her country.

Peters reiterated that certain decisions by the US and Europe cause difficulties for South Africa since the sanctions against the Islamic Republic are really not "our decision, but we end up suffering losses due to the measures".

She meantime stressed her country's determination to continue its crude oil imports from Iran, despite the US-engineered sanctions against Tehran.

Peters emphasized that a disruption of oil imports from the Islamic Republic will be very costly for South Africa and would create many difficulties for the country since one of their main refineries operates with Iranian crude.

According to the report, Peters also said that Pretoria imports some 26 percent of its oil supplies from Iran, 80 percent of which is used to produce gasoline fuel for vehicles.

In relevant remarks earlier this month, member of the parliament's Energy Commission Robert Beglarian also told FNA that "the whole international economic system will be severely damaged by the oil sanctions against Iran".

"Energy is so important in the world that the whole world's economic system will be harmed by such sanctions and if Europeans continue the (present) trend (of embargos), Iran's oil will definitely find its way to alternative markets," he added.

Reminding Iran's special geographic position in the region and the world and its closeness to the consuming nations, he said that Tehran can sell its oil at lower costs compared with the farther suppliers and can gain more money by swapping oil supplies and other measures.

Iran announced earlier this month that the oil ministry has worked out proper ways of dealing with the Western sanctions on the Iranian oil sector.

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qassemi said his office has drawn up plans to defuse the western sanctions on Iranian crude supplies.

Qassemi said his ministry is at the forefront of an economic battle with the West.

Qassemi's comments came two weeks after an EU oil embargo went into effect against Iran for its refusal to give up its uranium enrichment right.

Iranian officials have earlier said they are organizing a consortium of private companies to bypass the embargo. Iran says it can always find buyers for oil.

Also earlier this month, Iran announced that its government and parliament would set up a joint committee to counter the sanctions imposed by the West on the country's oil supplies.

The joint committee will comprise oil ministry officials, members of the parliament's energy commission and the national security and foreign policy commission.
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News ID 182279