Iran Warns Europe It Will Find Other Customers For Its Oil

Tehran, Feb 16, IRNA – Director General of West Europe Affairs at the Foreign Ministry Hassan Tajik said Wednesday that Iran would instantly find other customers for its oil if the EU member states ban Iranian crude oil. Speaking after separate meetings with Italian, Spanish, French, Greek, Dutch and Portuguese ambassadors to Tehran on Wednesday, Tajik said he had conveyed Iran's messages to Western ambassadors that "European people should know that if Iran changes destinations of the oil it gives to them, the responsibility will rest with the European governments themselves." He said that the European Union on January 23 decided to ban Iranian oil, a decision which is "illogical and illegal in our point of view." "Our response is that sanctions cannot affect Iranians' will, rather, it will have an adverse impact on European people. Europe is in a difficult economic condition and is facing a harsh winter. Iran cannot remain indifferent towards EU oil ban. We do not have any problem in terms of finding customers for our oil and selling it to other countries. However, based on humanitarian policies and given the conditions of European countries, we have decided to send a serious message to the Europeans which are parties to oil contracts. We can instantly replace oil customers." He added that the "The Islamic Republic of Iran has always believed that bilateral relations are based on mutual trust and that oil should not be used as a tools. "We believe in relations based on mutual respect. We believe in deepening relations for stronger energy security. We believe security is not related to the supply alone, rather to the demand. "We made it clear to the Europeans that their decisions are not right and the consequences of such decisions rest with those governments." On the reactions of the ambassadors in the meeting, Tajik said : "The ambassadors admitted that the sanctions will cause problems for both parties. They vowed to transfer the message to their capitals. The reasons behind the European Union's decision for banning Iranian oil are illogical. Iran's oil exports to Europe are not yet disrupted. On humanitarian grounds, we have sent the message to the European people that if they face any problem, the responsibility will rest with their governments."/end