Iran halts oil exports to U.K., France

In this April 15, 2008 file photo, oil technician Majid Afshari works at the Azadegan oil field, near Ahvaz, Iran. / AP Photo/Vahid Salemi

TEHRAN, Iran - Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, the oil ministry said Sunday, in an apparent pre-emptive blow against European Union sanctions against Iran's crucial fuel exports.

A statement posted on the ministry's shana.ir website gave no other details, but it follows a flurry of contradictory signals by Iran about backlash against the EU for imposing a boycott on Iranian oil beginning in July.

The 27-nation EU accounts for about 18 percent of Iran's oil exports.

Last week, state media said Iran was planning to cut off oil exports to six EU nations, including France, but later reports said the nations were only told that Iran has no problem finding replacement customers for the European shipments.

The EU sanctions, imposed last month, were part of Western efforts to target Iran's critical oil sector in attempts to rein in Tehran's nuclear program.

[samael2014]

Sweet poetic justice. You couldn't pick two nations with more arrogant American-ass-kissing leaders than France and the UK.

Good for them.


GOOD for them.

[noloyalisti]

Good on Iran. They know that the US and EU just want their oil. That is now the purpose of our corporate military. Attack unarmed third world countries to steal their oil.

It's not like we have not done that before, again and again (eg Iraq). So why should Iran trust these slimewad countries?

[erpicferl]

the only danger in the middle east is the bully america who invades countries to feed fresh recruits to the corporate war machine and israel who kicks palestinians off muslim land.

[taylorsucram]

After posting the following my comment has simply disappeared from the board at the NY-Times and Washington Post. When has the truth become controversial? To wit:

This is how it started: In 1953 The democratically elected government of Iran was overthrown by the CIA and Britain's MI6. This led to the "Shah of Iran" dictatorship up until 1979, during which thousands of Iranians were killed, tortured and repressed and the oil flowed to the west like honey.

Nobel laureate Thomas Schelling states that deterrence is about the only value the weapons might have for Iran. Such devices, he points out, "would be too precious to give away or to sell" and "too precious to waste killing people" when they could make other countries "hesitant to consider military action".

The United States has already declared Iran to be part of the "Axis-of-Evil" and we have dealt with Iraq (boy were we wrong about that one). Would like to deal with North Korea (but they have a nuclear weapon) and believe it is a foregone conclusion that Iran WILL ACQUIRE A NUCLEAR BOMB AS SOON AS POSSIBLE! They know that if Iraq had "one bomb" we would never have invaded! Besides there needs to be a balance in the Middle-East, Israel cannot be the only player in town with a gun. I know for a fact that When everyone has a gun ... you're careful about pulling yours!

[jonnyooh]

Swift Global Banking Network is set to cut off Iranian banks, which would place them in the position of doing all their banking transactions by mail or through couriers. Swift is the world's clearing house for world banks. Every international banking transaction goes through them. If this happens, It won't matter if they cut off France and the UK. They will effectively be cut off from every nation on the planet.
http://www.azcentral.com/news/articles/2012/02/17/20120217world-finance-network-poised-expel-iran.html

[PourpaixPourpaix]

I can't blame Iran in the least. The Western world had their chance to do good, but elected to continue their intimidation tactics, instead. When Pakistan started nuclear weapons tests, Iran was begging to make the Middle East a nuclear free zone to avoid an arms race. Nobody listened, so how can you blame them when there's no option for their own self-defense?

Israel can do what they want in the region because of their nuclear arsenal. The bordering country of Pakistan has nukes, as well as India just a short distance away. At their whim, the United States and Britain sail their nuclear-laden navies into Iranian territorial waters. China and Russia, the other nuclear powers, just a stone's throw distant. Arch-enemy Iraq now protected by America and their nuclear arsenal.

What, Iran is just supposed to keel over, and ask the World to be merciful and swift in exterminating the Iranian peoples? Don't blame Iran. The West is supposedly the world leaders, not Iran. We are getting exactly what we asked for ..... trouble.

[skunk_monkey]

the UK does not import any significant amount of oil from Iran....

uk oil imports for 2010:

Norway: 73%
Russia: 7%
Libya: 5%
Nigeria: 3%
Tunisia: 2%
other: 10%

uk oil imports are low we where an oil exporter till 2004.

barrels per day uk imports: 1,008,939
barrels per day uk exports: 831,827 (17%USA)

[obbop]

I have no fears.

If any of his fellow ruling-elite class brethren are suffering or if politician figurehead lackey puppet Obama (as all high-ranking politicians are in modern USA) is ordered to by his corporate masters (the groups that their lackeys, when leaving office or bureaucrat positions, are extremely well-rewarded, all done legally) the USA will provide, assist in paying for, or send USA troops yet again overseas to shed blood to ensure the entrenched wealth and power systems that do NOT assist We, the People, the common folks do not suffer.

Protect our ruling masters and BIG corporate entities across the world.

USA citizen-sheep appear to be the most well-indoctrinated to OBEY!!!

Always OBEY!!!

It is your patriotic duty.

Our beloved leaders have the USA's best interests in mind, and that includes the masses of citizens.

Yeah, believe that. It is what you have been brainwashed in believing by multiple indoctrination systems, the best in the world.

Life-long indoctrination.

OBEY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[venusvegasvada]

Screw Iran. Let them drink their oil.

[lucifersshadow]

Our leaders are so ignorant that they cannot figure out the following: They spend billions of dollars to keep drugs out of the country, and billions of dollars to get oil into the country. They should not worry about the oil . . . . if market forces get drugs into the country (due to high demand) why are we worrying about oil, when it has a high demand too . . . . leave the market alone, and other countries alone, and the oil will find its way into the country.