Azerbaijan, Baku, April 19/Trend M. Moezzi
If the negotiations between the West and Iran over its nuclear programme aren't successful there will be turmoil in the world's oil markets says Iran's oil minister, Pana news agency reports.
Iran's standing as OPEC's second oil producer means in the long term that other countries like Saudi Arabia, can't fill the void created by embargoing its oil and refineries built to specifically process Iran's oil which can't be refitted easily, said Rostam Ghasemi.
Iran doesn't have a problem exporting its oil, but its absence has affected European markets and that will continue, said the minister.
These are just some of the reasons why it's important for talks held between Iran and the permanent members of the UN Security Council-the U.S., Britain, France, Russia and China, plus Germany (P5+1) to succeed. The negotiations over Iran's nuclear programme started in Istanbul and will continue in Iraq.
Iran is in a standoff with the West over its nuclear programme. Iran contends its programme is civilian and peaceful while the U.S. and its allies insist it is military in nature. The U.S. has led sanctions against Iran's oil industry and its central bank.
The European Union will impose a full embargo on Iranian oil imports from July 1.