LONDON Ñ Iran has been threatened with a loss of oil clients, Japan in particular.
Tokyo has warned Teheran that it will not
buy Iranian oil unless it responds to international concerns about Iran's
nuclear program. The international community has called on Iran to sign an
additional protocol of the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty that would allow
spot inspections by the International Atomic Energy Agency.
Iran and Japan have been discussing Tokyo's cooperation to develop
Azadegan, one of Iran's largest oil fields. The Japanese consortium
negotiating for the project is comprised of Tomen Corp., Inpex Corp. and
Japan Petroleum Exploration Co.
The United States has pressed Japan to end oil cooperation with Iran.
State Department spokesman Richard Boucher said Japanese cooperation in
Azadegan would hurt international efforts to halt Iran's nuclear weapons
program. Iran said IAEA director-general Mohammed El Baradei will visit
Teheran on Wednesday.
