The head of the National Oil Company of Iran, Ahmad Ghalehbani, has announced that the Islamic Republic will only sell oil to European countries under contracts lasting two to five years.

“If the European states want to continue importing Iranian crude, they must sign unconditional purchase contracts with terms of two to five years,” Ghalehbani emphasized.

He added that contracts with several European countries have ended, but some other countries have six months left on their old contracts.

Ghalehbani maintained that most buyers of Iranian crude in Europe are in the private sector, and they now have now been forced to forego their dealings with Iran under pressure from the states.

He emphasized that any country wielding aggressive policies against Iran will be cut off from Iran’s oil exports.

Iran’s Oil Minister announced yesterday that Iran has halted oil exports to Britain and France.

The move came after the European Union announced in January that it was imposing an oil embargo on Iran, declaring that European states would no longer purchase Iranian crude as of July 2012.

Iran responded by threatening an immediate halt to oil sales to European countries, adding that it can easily replace its European customers.

Source : Radio Zamaneh