Share

SA suspends Iran oil imports

Pretoria - South Africa has suspended almost all of its oil imports from Iran and intends to abide by a US request to significantly drop its supplies from the state, a senior diplomat said on Thursday.

“(To my knowledge), no Iranian oil is flowing into our country,” Deputy Foreign Minister Ebrahim Ebrahim told a news conference.

“If there is any, it is very little.”

South Africa is on a US State Department list of 12 countries that buy Iranian oil and could be subject to US sanctions unless they significantly cut purchases.

Iran is South Africa’s leading crude supplier, accounting for about 29% of oil imports, according to the US Energy Information Administration.

Earlier, cabinet spokesperson Jimmy Manyi said Pretoria had not decided what to do about the US request. “There’s no decision made one way or the other, but cabinet is deliberating on Iran,” he told a news conference.

South Africa’s energy minister said last week she hoped to have a plan by the end of May for replacing supplies from Iran.

Ebrahim said he did not agree with the US move to impose sanctions on countries that purchase Iranian oil. But he said Pretoria was forced to abide by it due to the economic hit South Africa would take if it did not comply.

“We don’t have any choice in the matter,” he said. As a sovereign country, South Africa should be able to buy oil from wherever it wants, Ebrahim said.


We live in a world where facts and fiction get blurred
Who we choose to trust can have a profound impact on our lives. Join thousands of devoted South Africans who look to News24 to bring them news they can trust every day. As we celebrate 25 years, become a News24 subscriber as we strive to keep you informed, inspired and empowered.
Join News24 today
heading
description
username
Show Comments ()
Rand - Dollar
19.05
-0.8%
Rand - Pound
24.04
-0.6%
Rand - Euro
20.55
-0.4%
Rand - Aus dollar
12.37
-0.2%
Rand - Yen
0.13
-0.7%
Platinum
901.20
+0.5%
Palladium
997.97
-0.4%
Gold
2,206.11
+0.5%
Silver
24.64
-0.0%
Brent Crude
86.09
-0.2%
Top 40
68,067
+0.6%
All Share
74,267
+0.5%
Resource 10
56,746
+2.0%
Industrial 25
103,647
+0.4%
Financial 15
16,482
-0.3%
All JSE data delayed by at least 15 minutes Iress logo
Company Snapshot
Editorial feedback and complaints

Contact the public editor with feedback for our journalists, complaints, queries or suggestions about articles on News24.

LEARN MORE
Government tenders

Find public sector tender opportunities in South Africa here.

Government tenders
This portal provides access to information on all tenders made by all public sector organisations in all spheres of government.
Browse tenders