The Iranian government may ban imports of all products from Europe as an answer for the European Union which voted against oil imports this week, Iranian Press TV channel reported on Saturday.
The TV channel quoted country's deputy chairman of parliamentary committee on energy Nasser Sudani as saying that one of the items of a bill, worked out by the parliament, stipulated an immediate cease of oil exports to the European Union, without waiting for the entry into force of the EU-initiated ban.
"Other item obliges the government to ban import of all goods from the states which imposed sanctions against our country," Sudani said.
The EU voted on Monday to ban oil imports from Iran. The move came after the Islamic Republic announced earlier this month that it had launched a nuclear enrichment program at a well-protected underground facility near the holy Shia city of Qom.
Western nations suspect Iran, which is already under numerous international sanctions, of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons program but Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely for civilian purposes.
Iran has threatened to retaliate by blocking the Strait of Hormuz, the main export route for supplies from the Middle East.
Sudani also considers that the EU sanctions will hit Europe itself because the Western countries had no other sources to compensate their oil demand. The sanctions are likely to hike oil prices and Europe will have to pay more as it will buy Iranian oil through mediators.
