UN inspectors arrive in the Iran for nuclear talks

(Reuters) - a team of UN inspectors was denied in Tehran on Monday for talks on Iran's nuclear program, a day after the Islamic Republic obviously as retaliation for the strengthening of EU sanctions ordered a stop to the British and French company of its oil.

The European Union angrily Tehran last month when it decided to a boycott of its oil from 1 July. Iran, the world's largest oil exporter, responded with a warning, the Strait of Hormuz, to close the main Gulf oil shipping lane.

On Sunday, its oil Ministry went a step of further, announcing that Iran has now stopped selling oil to French and British companies, a movement, but little or no effect on the supply is achieved with France or United Kingdom.

"Export of crude oil, British and French companies stopped..." "We sell our oil to new customers," spokesman Alireza Nikzad was quoted: on the website of the Ministry.

Iran, which denies Western accusations that it wants to make nuclear weapons, has driven in recent weeks also willingness to resume of the negotiations highly on its nuclear program his rhetoric.

The five-member team of the UN International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) will hold two days of talks in the Iran, but Western diplomats have played down any hope of a breakthrough.

"I'm still pessimistic that Iran will demonstrate substantive collaboration," said a Minister Plenipotentiary in Vienna.

But the results this week talks is important and will be monitored closely because it could either increase the confrontation or travel offer to reduce tensions.

The European Commission says that the block was not short of oil, if Iran crude oil exports stopped when it has enough stock to his needs for approximately 120 days.

Industry sources said that European oil buyers already large cuts in the purchases of Iran made months in advance of the EU sanctions.

French and Dutch/oil, which but overall were total and shell large buyer of Iranian crude oil already stopped buying Iran and traders last week had said that Shell had scaled back sharply.

Shell, which has refused to comment on his commerce with the Iran was one of the largest consumer of Iranian crude worldwide, with about 100,000 barrels per day in Europe and about the same amount of the Japanese subsidiary Showa Shell.

Latest EU data for the third quarter of 2011, shows that the oil sales in the UK fell to 0 (zero) and France imported 75,000 barrels per day, only 6 per cent of its crude oil imports. Iranian crude interruption between European countries is exposed on the most debt-ridden Greece.

MILITARY IMPACT?

Iran says its nuclear program is entirely peaceful, but its refusal to curb uranium enrichment, which can have both civilian and military purposes, has concerns.

Western powers not with violence against the Iran excluded, and it has an intense public debate in Israel whether it be, however, an atomic bomb Iran should attack.

The top U.S. officer said on Sunday that a military strike is premature, since it was not clear that Tehran would use its nuclear capabilities to build a nuclear bomb.

"I think it is unclear (, that Iran would build a bomb) and on this basis, I think it would be premature, only decide that the time for a military option to us, was", said General Martin Dempsey, Chairman of the US military of Joint Chiefs of staff.

He said that he believed that the Iranian Government is a "rational actors."

In the West has some optimism about the prospect of fresh talks with Tehran, said, especially after it promised last week, "new initiatives" to the table bring sent a letter to EU foreign policy Chief Catherine Ashton.

"In these negotiations, we find a way out of the Iranian nuclear issue, current so that both sides win," Iranian TV quoted Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi on Sunday.

Oil, a major component of Iran's export revenues and an important lifeline for the increasingly isolated economy is on. It has little refining capacity and has about 40 percent of the need to import gasoline for domestic consumption.

Pressed tightened sanctions, combined with high inflation, have to feed the ability of the working class Iranians to themselves and their families, and this uncertainty provides the setting for a parliamentary vote on March 2.