Even with the toughest-ever E.U. sanctions now in force, Europe maintains an economic relationship with Iran. Unlike U.S. companies, European firms are free to buy Iranian crude oil and natural gas and to sell refined petroleum products to Iran. And the E.U. this week urged financial institutions to lend their support to that legitimate trade. Europe imports about 1.2 million bbl. of Iranian crude a day — double the amount it imported in 2008, according to the International Energy Agency in Paris. In addition, some E.U. partnerships with Iran could be exempted from the sanctions by E.U. officials if they consider them crucial to Europe's energy needs. One example could be the Iranian gas from the Caspian Sea, which will feed into the huge new Nabucco pipeline across Europe, a project aimed at reducing the continent's dependence on Russian gas.
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