French minister mocks 'imaginative' Iran

AFP -- Iran's recent decision to halt oil exports to Britain and France "makes one smile,' as it is the European Union that decided to impose an oil embargo on Iran and not the other way around, France's foreign minister said Monday.

Alain Juppe added that the Islamic Republic is "very imaginative" in provoking other nations, referring to Tehran's threats to cut oil supply to hostile European countries.

Speaking at a press conference in Rome, Juppe noted that Iranian oil previously exported by France had very little significance given the country's needs. Earlier Monday, French officials said that Iran's decision to cut oil supply was meaningless as Paris curbed its oil exports from Iran last year already.

The French Foreign Ministry also issued a statement, noting that French oil companies already put an end to purchases from Iran on their own initiative.

According to a European Union decision, Europe's oil embargo on Iran is slated to go into effect in July. Until then, EU members that import oil from Iran must identify new suppliers.

On Sunday, Iran's Oil Ministry spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad-Rahbar issued a belligerent statement on the ministry's website, warning that "Crude oil exports to British and French companies have been halted."

"We have our own customers and have no problem to sell and export our crude oil to new customers," the spokesman said at the time.