Ahmadinejad Iran should focus on oil products, not crude

Iran should stop exporting crude oil and instead try to sell refined oil products, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying on Tuesday, a day after the United States moved to tighten sanctions on Tehran further.
   
"We must stop the exports of crude oil," Ahmadinejad was quoted as saying by the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA) in a speech opening a new refinery near Tehran.
   
"We must go in such a direction that we do not export crude oil, and this is doable through the development of refineries and distribution."
   
Iranian crude exports have fallen sharply because of U.S. and European Union sanctions aimed at starving the government of vital oil revenues for its nuclear program by banning imports of Iranian crude and refined products.
   
Washington has prohibited U.S. companies from trading in all Iranian oil products for years, while an EU ban on importing crude and refined products came into effect on July 1.
   
Western government efforts to pressure Iran's biggest customers in Asia to reduce their trade have focused on crude because Iran struggles to meet its own needs for refined fuel.