Iran has halted shipments of oil to Britain and France and a UN team has been dispatched to Tehran for talks as economic sanctions tighten around the country and its disputed nuclear program.
But as Iran strikes back against tough sanctions introduced by the European Union, the country's foreign minister hinted Sunday Tehran is willing to resume nuclear talks with the six world powers in Istanbul, Turkey. The last round of talks in January 2011 ended in failure.
Ali Akbar Salehi was speaking at a press conference in the Iranian capital, but didn't indicate a timeframe for negotiations to resume with the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany.
A team of experts from the UN departed for Tehran Sunday in an attempt to get the Iranian government to talk about its nuclear program and allegations of its intent to build an atomic weapon.
Herman Nackaerts of the International Atomic Energy Agency is leading the group and he told reporters that, "the highest priority remains of course the possible military dimensions of Iran's nuclear program."
The West wants Iran to meet Security Council demands to stop uranium enrichment. Iran denies its enrichment program is geared to the development of nuclear weapons, insisting it is intended for the generation of electricity.
The halting of oil shipments to Britain and France comes at time of heightened tensions and the possibility of a military strike by Israel, which is growing increasingly impatient with Tehran's stalling of nuclear talks and the pace of sanctions.
Britain's Foreign Secretary William Hague has consistently warned against any pre-emptive military strike against Iran's nuclear facilities suggesting sanctions and negotiations haven't been given a chance.
"I don't think a wise thing at this moment is for Israel to launch a military attack on Iran," he said in an interview with the BBC Sunday.
Hague said a nuclear-armed Iran would trigger a Cold War-style conflict in the Middle East.
Iran's decision to ban oil exports to the U.K. and France Sunday is seen as retaliatory action against a decision last month by the European Union to impose sanctions on the country's fuel exports.
The EU also froze the Iranian central bank's assets and a full oil embargo will take effect in July. The 27-nation bloc accounts for about 18 per cent of Iran's oil exports.
Iran's Oil Ministry spokesman Ali Reza Nikzad-Rahbar said shipments have been halted to companies in both countries. He said Iran has its own customers and selling the extra crude will be "no problem."
There has been no comment from either British or French officials on the ban.
Mehr, Iran's semi-official news agency, also reported Sunday that the National Iranian Oil Company sent letters to a handful of European refineries, saying they must either sign long-term contracts of between two and five years, or risk being cut off.
While the agency did not name the countries, Spain, Italy and Greece are among the best European customers of Iranian oil.
Stayner University Professor Rasool Nafisi said the isolated nation's leaders are "showing they are in a powerful position and not afraid of an embargo.
"And tit for tat, in a way it is true," Nafisi told Â鶹´«Ã½.
Meanwhile, the U.S. has sent White House national security adviser Tom Donilon to Israel for talks on Iran's nuclear program, the latest in a series of top officials to be dispatched to the country.
A White House statement called the Sunday visit the latest in "regular, high-level consultations" for peaceful purposes.
While the U.S. appears to be stalling for more time for sanctions to work, Israel says time is running out and all options, including military action, must be on the table.
Daniel Hershkowitz, Israel's minister for science and technology, said the two countries may not see eye-to-eye on how best to deal with Iran.
"The United States is an independent country and can have an opinion that sometimes differs from us," he said.
With a report from CTV's Joy Malbon in Washington
