Iranian confirms halt in oil supplies to Greece

Speaking to reporters on the sidelines of a ceremony to inaugurate a petrochemical unit on Tuesday morning, Qassemi pointed to Iran's move to halt oil exports to a number of European states, and announced, "Right now, Iran's oil is not exported to Greece." The minister further said that European states have imposed sanctions on Iran's oil sector since years ago, and stressed that these sanctions have left no impacts on Iran and failed to hinder Iranian oil industry's progress and might. Iran stopped deliveries to Greek refiners Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil a few days ago due to unpaid bills. Greece has long been the European Union country relying the most on Iranian oil - sometimes for as much as a third of its supplies. A spokesman for Motor Oil confirmed the cut of Iranian oil supplies. Iran's decision to bar Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Hellas from purchasing crude oil is expected to further deepen the financial crisis in Greece. Oil prices have shot up in recent months in the wake of Iran's decision to halt its crude exports to certain European countries in response to the European Union (EU) oil embargo on Tehran. Iran has already cut oil exports to France and Britain. On January 23, EU foreign ministers approved sanctions against Iran, including a ban on Iranian oil imports, a freeze on the assets of the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) within the bloc's states, and a ban on selling diamonds, gold and other precious metals to Tehran. Following the move, Tehran summoned the ambassadors of Italy, Spain, France, Greece, Portugal and the Netherlands to protest at the EU's unilateral sanctions against Tehran over its peaceful nuclear program, and warned them that it would soon stop oil exports to these countries if they do not reverse their decision.