Iran warns EU of oil boycott’s high cost

Iranian Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi has warned the European Union that its citizens will bear the brunt of the bloc's oil sanctions against the Islamic Republic, PRESS TV reported.

"In the past and before the oil sanctions against Iran, we warned the countries imposing them that they themselves will be harmed by the embargoes, and, unfortunately, now the European people are living under pressure," he told reporters on Thursday in Vienna where a conference of the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC) is underway.

On January 23, the EU approved new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors. The sanctions, due to come into force as of July 1, are meant to prevent the EU member states from buying Iranian crude or doing business with the country's Central Bank.

"We repeatedly declared that the shortage of Iranian oil in international markets will have a very negative effect on the countries imposing [anti-Iran] sanctions and can strain the market atmosphere," he added.

Qasemi had also warned on Wednesday that slapping sanctions against "the second major OPEC oil producer" will bring about fluctuations in the oil market and damage the global economy.

New financial sanctions and oil embargoes, imposed by the US and the EU against Iran since the beginning of 2012, have been adopted based on the fact that the country's nuclear energy program may include military components.

Tehran dismisses such allegations, insisting that, as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Iran also argues that frequent inspections by the IAEA have never found any diversion in the country's nuclear energy program towards military purposes.