Oil, Sanctions | featured news

Iran said on Tuesday it would stop oil exports if pressure from Western sanctions got any tighter and it had a “Plan B” contingency strategy to survive without oil revenues.

Obscure private firms are offering Iranian crude oil at steep discounts to European oil traders as Tehran seeks ways to restore oil export flows hit by Western sanctions.

The United Arab Emirates opens and begins operating a key overland pipeline which bypasses the Strait of Hormuz, controlled by Iran. Iran has repeatedly threatened to close the strait at the mouth of the Gulf, a vital oil-trade route.

Iran's Oil Minister says his office has drawn up plans to make newly tightened sanctions against the Islamic Republic ineffective.

Iran has reached agreements with European refiners to sell some of its oil through a private consortium, an official said on Saturday, a move designed to circumvent sanctions intended to put pressure on Tehran to halt its disputed nuclear program.

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Tuesday the latest EU sanctions on the sale of Iranian oil are "the strongest" measures yet imposed on the country.

European governments have agreed in principle to ban imports of Iranian oil, EU diplomats said on Wednesday, dealing a blow to Tehran that crowns new Western sanctions months before an Iranian election.

The European Union on Friday imposed an embargo on oil imports from Syria as security forces in the country surrounded mosques in rebellious cities to prevent worshippers from pouring into the streets for anti-government rallies.

The Government Accountability Office report finds that over the last five years, 41 foreign companies have helped Iran develop its oil and gas sector.