Iran cuts oil to Greek firms over payment problems-Press TV

Reuters: Iran has blocked oil sales to two Greek companies, Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Hellas after they failed to make payment, Iranian state television reported on Thursday.

DUBAI, April 5 (Reuters) – Iran has blocked oil sales to two Greek companies, Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Hellas after they failed to make payment, Iranian state television reported on Thursday.

The English-language television network, Press TV, reported that Greece’s top refiner Hellenic Petroleum and Motor Oil Hellas were barred from purchasing Iranian crude after they defaulted on their purchases.

On Tuesday, a senior source at Hellenic Petroleum told Reuters the refiner had suspended purchases of Iranian crude because sanctions imposed by the Untied States and the European Union made it impossible to meet its oil payments.

The European Union will impose a full embargo on Iranian oil imports from July 1 as part of an international standoff over Tehran’s nuclear programme, while the United States is looking to tighten its sanctions on the Islamic Republic, to penalise anyone who deals with the Iranian central bank.

(Reporting By Marcus George, Editing by Humeyra Pamuk)