Iran warns of record oil prices over nuclear sanctions

US: Iran’s finance minister believes oil prices could rise as high as $160 a barrel thanks to sanctions over its nuclear program, a prediction that comes just as the chief of the United Nations nuclear watchdog agency headed to Tehran on Sunday for high-level talks.

“We must pay close attention when we speak of oil revenues and sanctions against oil sales, who are the winners and the losers of such sanctions?” Shamseddin Hosseini told CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS” in an interview that airs Sunday. “Indeed, it is difficult. But not just for Iran. And we can all rest assured that there will be a considerable increase in international oil market prices. Now, is this the best approach?”

The comments came as the International Atomic Energy Agency said in a carefully worded statement that its director-general, Yukiya Amano, was headed to Iran for talks on what it described only as “issues of mutual interest with high Iranian officials.” The trip raises speculation that Iran may be willing to grant IAEA inspectors access to sites to determine whether it is developing nuclear weapons.

The talks come at a critical time for Iran, whose economy has been crippled by sanctions imposed by the United Nations, the United States and the European Union.

Eighty percent of Iran’s foreign revenues are derived from oil exports, and an embargo by the EU set to go into effect in July will further devastate its economy.

CNN