France is pushing for a European oil embargo on Iran, breaking a diplomatic taboo that could have significant ramifications for the energy market and global economic growth, the FT reports. Paris has made the proposal to European Union members preparing a new round of sanctions following the release of a UN nuclear agency report this month. On Thursday, however, it spooked international oil markets by appearing to suggest that it would impose its own international ban on the third largest oil exporter before backtracking and saying it would do so only in consultation with the EU. The International Atomic Energy Agency for the first time detailed Tehran’s efforts at weaponisation and said the Islamic Republic had sought to design a nuclear warhead. A British official said the UK was “broadly supportive” of the proposal and that London and Paris were consulting EU partners and studying the implications of an embargo. But the move is likely to face strong resistance from Italy and Spain, the two largest buyers of Iranian crude in Europe. The US has banned oil from Iran since the 1980s.

This entry was posted by Izabella Kaminska on Thursday, November 24th, 2011 at 22:44 and is featured in The 6am Cut London (25 Nov 2011), The Closer (24 Nov 2011) . Tagged with commodities, france, oil. Edit this entry.