Iran halts oil exports to Britain, France

Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, as retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions levied against the Middle East nation.

Iran has halted oil shipments to Britain and France, as retaliatory measure against fresh EU sanctions levied against the Middle East nation.

In January, the EU decided to stop importing crude from Iran from 1 July over its nuclear programme.

Iran in turn threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz, the main Gulf oil shipping lane.

A five-member team from the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) flew to Tehran late on 19 February for talks with the nation which is the world's fifth-largest oil exporter.

The discussions are expected to either intensify the stand-off or aid in reducing tensions.

The European Commission said that the continent is well stocked with crude and refined products and can withstand any halt in oil supplies from Iran.

The European Commission says the bloc's current stocks amount to 136 million mt, enough stock to meet its needs for around 120 days.

The International Energy Agency estimates put France's average imports at just 58,000 b/d in 2011 while Britain has imported no Iranian oil since February 2010.

Greece, Italy and Spain have already starting reducing imports ahead of the ban which will come into effect on 1 July this year.

Austria and Portugal also halted oil imports from Iran in 2010 while the Czech Republic has not bought Iranian oil since July 2011 Belgium stopped crude imports this year.

Iran says its nuclear programme is entirely peaceful, reports abc.net.au.