Iraq sends OPEC oil sales suspension notice

Iraq's Amir Muhammed Rasheed has informed OPEC Secretary General Ali Rodriguez that the Government of Iraq has decided on April 8 to "halt totally all Iraqi oil exports through the Mediterranean and Arabian Gulf oil terminals at 10.00 Hrs GMT ( 14.00 Hrs Local Time ), for a period of 30 days or until the Zionist forces withdraw unconditionally from the Palestinian territories." INA reported today

The INA report said "This Iraqi decision is not meant to harm anybody but to put an end to the Zionist -American aggression against the Palestinian people and to force the Israeli forces to stop the mass killing of civilians and to compel them to withdraw from all Palestinian territories."

It added "All fellow oil exporting countries are called to support this decision and to refrain from any action or statement that could undermine this well justified action."

Iraq's decision to suspend crude exports will seriously jeopardize the U.N. administered oil-for-food program, which provides food, medicine, and other humanitarian supplies for Iraqi civilians, the U.N. said April 9.