Britain wants European Union member states to postpone the ban on insuring ships carrying Iranian oil exports.
European diplomats told Reuters on Wednesday that Britain is seeking a delay of up to six months for the ban on “providing insurance for tankers carrying Iranian oil, arguing that it could lead to a damaging spike in oil prices.”
The EU’s oil embargo on Iran’s crude exports will kick in on July 1 and it includes a ban on providing insurance for Iranian oil tankers.
This will have a considerable impact on Britain’s financial district since it is the centre for marine insurance.
The EU sanctions on Iran are aimed at decimating Iran’s oil revenues in order to make the Islamic Republic more flexible in its nuclear negotiations with world powers.
Although Iran sells most of its crude to Asian countries, the tankers used to transfer the oil often have British insurance.
Britain is reportedly calling for the postponement because Japan and South Korea are pressing insurance companies to insure Iranian oil beyond July 1 so they can continue to buy it.
