The law to be debated in Iran's parliament on Sunday could go ahead.
Reports from Reuters say that "on Sunday, parliament will have to approve a 'double emergency' bill calling for a halt in the export of Iranian oil to Europe starting next week," Hossein Ibrahimi, vice-chairman of parliament's national security and foreign policy committee, was quoted as saying.
According to reports, Parliament is to push for the export ban to deny the EU a 6-month phase-in of the embargo on Iranian oil that the bloc agreed on Monday. This comes as tough new Western sanctions aimed at forcing Iran to curb its nuclear programme.
8 percent of Iranian crude oil sales in the first half of 2011 were accounted for by the EU, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA). The EU is Iran's second biggest customer after China.
"If the deputies arrive at the conclusion that the Iranian oil exports to Europe must be halted, the parliament will not delay a moment (in passing the bill)," Fars quoted Moayed Hosseini-Sadr, a member of parliament's energy committee, as saying.
"If Iran's oil exports to Europe, which is about 18 percent (of Iran's oil exports) is halted the Europeans will surely be taken by surprise, and will understand the power of Iran and will realise that the Islamic establishment will not succumb to the Europeans' policies," he said.
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