The 27 members of the European Union may be on the brink of announcing an embargo on Iranian oil.
The deal could be reached as early as the end of this month as it appears there is already agreement in principle, with just the dates remaining to be fixed.
Several EU nations, notably Greece, are heavily dependent on Iranian oil so an embargo will hurt, and they have been pushing for an embargo to start later in the year, but it seems they have been swayed by a majority wanting swifter action.
China has however reiterated its opposition to unilateral action and stresses diplomacy is the way forward. “China is against one country putting their domestic laws above international law and placing unilateral sanctions on another country. China, like many other countries, maintains regular, open and transparent economic and energy relations with Iran. These relations do not violate the regulations of the UN Security Council,” said foreign ministry spokesman Hong Lei.
http://www.euronews.net/2012/01/04/eu-ready-to-ban-iranian-oil-imports/
The OP link indicates that China, "driving a hard bargain, has cut its order of Iranian oil by more than half this month."
"Most traders expect Iran will still find buyers for its crude, mostly in Asia, but it is going to have to offer substantial discounts, cutting back the revenue that the state relies on to subsidise basic goods for its citizens.
Tougher sanctions appear to be having an impact already on Iran's streets, where prices for foodstuffs are soaring. The rial currency has lost 40 percent of its value against the dollar over the past month.""
Will be interesting to see if and how much revenue Iran loses either through a lower volume of oil exports or lower prices after discounts.
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