Iran may stop oil exports to Belgium, Czech Republic, Netherlands

TEHRAN,March 7(MNA)– After France and Britain, the Iranian Oil Ministry may also decide to halt oil exports to Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands. The Iranian Oil Ministry has given ultimatums to certain European countries including Italy, Portugal, the Netherlands, Germany, Greece, Spain, Belgium, and the Czech Republic, setting new conditions for buying the Iranian oil. Iran’s main conditions are that contracts for buying oil should be 3-5 years and that payments should be made on time. Semi-official reports indicate that if Belgium, the Czech Republic, and the Netherlands do not meet Iran’s preconditions, the Oil Ministry will soon stop selling crude to them. Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi instructed the National Iranian Oil Company on February 19 to suspend oil exports to Britain and France. On January 29, the Iranian oil minister announced that Iran would cut oil exports to “certain countries” in the near future in response to the oil embargo that the European Union imposed on the Islamic Republic on January 23. The Iranian parliament has prepared a plan calling for a halt to Iran’s oil exports to the European Union states that voted for sanctions on the country’s oil industry, which will reportedly be discussed in the parliament in the near future.