WASHINGTON, March 21 (UPI) -- Through great strides, U.S. allies stood in solidarity by making significant reductions in the amount of oil they import from Iran, the secretary of state said.
U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Belgium, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland, Spain and the United Kingdom "significantly reduced" the amount of oil they purchase from Iran.
"The actions taken by these countries were not easy," Clinton said. "They had to rethink their energy needs at a critical time for the world economy and quickly begin to find alternatives to Iranian oil, which many had been reliant on for their energy needs."
The European Union in January banned new purchases of Iranian crude oil and agreed to phase out existing contracts by July. Tehran pre-empted the EU move by banning exports to some EU members, though some of the countries had already halted Iranian crude oil purchases.
A senior U.S. State Department official said EU members share a common goal, "which is to deny export revenues to Iran that can fund its nuclear program."
Iran maintains its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, though Western governments believe the country is working on the technology needed to manufacture a bomb.
The decision by the EU members exempts them from U.S. sanctions on their financial institutes for a renewable period of 180 days.
