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Friendly powers in the international arena are helping Iran get fuel supplies after the U.S. passed unilateral sanctions a week ago.
Friday, 09 July 2010 11:02

Friendly powers in the international arena are helping Iran get fuel supplies after the U.S. passed unilateral sanctions a week ago that aim to hinder Tehran's fuel imports.

The Islamic Republic is buying around half of its July gasoline imports from Turkey and the rest from Chinese sellers, oil traders said on Thursday, as most other suppliers have stopped selling due to the U.S. sanctions.

Turkish refiner Tupras began supplying gasoline to Iran in June after a hiatus of at least 18 months, trade sources said, just days after Turkey and Brazil brokered a nuclear fuel swap plant with Tehran.

Western powers rejected the plan, and Turkey and Brazil responded by voting against the fourth round of sanctions on Iran at the U.N. security council.

China, one of Iran's main trade partners and a permanent member of the security council, signed up to the U.N. sanctions. But before it did so, Beijing demanded the measures avoid targeting Tehran's oil and gas industries. Earlier this week, China denounced the United States for imposing its own sanctions on Iran.