TEHRAN, Jan 28: Iranian lawmakers have finalised a draft bill requiring the government to immediately halt crude oil sales to Europe in response to the bloc’s decision to ban the purchase of Iranian oil, a member of parliament said on Saturday.

Nasser Soudani said the legislature’s energy committee completed its work on the bill Saturday and that parliament will debate and vote on it during an open session on Sunday.

“As long as the EU doesn’t lift the oil embargo, we won’t give them a drop of oil,” state TV quoted Soudani as saying. Soudani is deputy chairman of the energy committee.

The European Union imposed an oil embargo against Iran and froze the assets of its central bank on Monday.—AP