Azerbaijan, Baku, July 1 /Trend M. Moezzi/
On the first day of new sanctions against Iran's oil industry, the head of the country's national oil company expressed confidence that European oil customers will be easily replaced.
Deputy Oil Minister Ahmad Qalebani said Iran began reducing oil shipments to its European customers even before the European Union's decision to stop purchasing Iran's oil as of today, July 1, the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) reports.
Qalebani, Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi and other Iranian officials have been trying to shrug off the sanctions and their effect on Iran's increasingly stressed economy.
At 200 to 300,000 barrels a day, said Qalebani, the oil bought by the European Union only accounts for 10 to 15 percent of Iran's oil sales. That's not significant enough to hurt Iran when it's exporting two million barrels of oil a day, he said.
Today, July 1, marks the beginning of the European Union's ban on buying Iran's oil. The European companies, who insure almost all of the world's oil tankers, will also stop insuring those vessels carrying Iranian oil.
The increasing sanctions have made it practically impossible for Iran to conduct international banking transactions, all part of an effort led by the U.S. and its allies to make Iran provide answers about its nuclear programme. The West is convinced Iran's nuclear programme is military in nature and Iran insists it is civilian and peaceful.
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