Iran's parliament is expected to consider next week a bill to ban oil exports to Europe after the bloc imposed an embargo on oil from the Islamic republic, media quoted deputies as saying Thursday.

The parliament's energy commission "is finalising a bill to halt oil exports to Europe," the body's spokesman, Emad Hosseini, said in widely reported comments.

Hosseini said that the proposal was likely to be presented on Sunday to the assembly, which would then decide if and when to include it on its agenda.

"If this bill is passed, the government will be forced to stop selling oil to Europe before the actual implementation of their sanctions," he said.

The European Union on Monday slapped an embargo on Iranian oil exports as the West ramped up pressure on Tehran over its controversial nuclear drive and urged it to return to the negotiating table.

The Islamic republic, which is already under four rounds of United Nations sanctions, vehemently denies its nuclear programme masks an atomic weapons drive as the West alleges, and insists it is for civilian purposes only.

"The bill seeks to force the government to stop selling oil to Europe before the EU embargo comes into force," another deputy Hassan Ghafourifard who is also member of the energy commission was quoted as saying on the parliament website.

EU foreign ministers agreed on an immediate ban on oil imports and a phase-out of existing contracts up to July 1. They also froze the assets of Iran's central bank while ensuring legitimate trade under strict conditions.

The bloc imported some 600,000 barrels per day of Iranian oil in the first 10 months of last year, making it a key market alongside India and China, which has refused to bow to pressure from Washington to dry up Iran's oil revenues.

The new EU sanctions meanwhile would make it even more difficult for Iran to be paid in foreign currency for its oil exports, worth more than 100 billion dollars in 2011.

If the law is passed, "the countries who targetted the Iranian oil will not receive a drop," warned another member of the energy commission, Nasser Soudani, also quoted by the media.

Iran's decision "will lead to higher prices and the Europeans will have to buy their oil more expensively," he said.

China blasts EU sanctions on Iran
Beijing (AFP) Jan 26, 2012 - China said Thursday that EU sanctions on Iran announced this week in response to Tehran's suspected nuclear drive were "not constructive", echoing Russia's reaction to the measures.

The European Union agreed on an embargo on Iranian oil on Monday as well as financial sanctions -- adding to new US measures targeting the Islamic Republic -- as the West ramps up pressure on Tehran to return to the negotiating table.

"To blindly pressure and impose sanctions on Iran are not constructive approaches," China's foreign ministry was quoted as saying by the state news agency Xinhua, in response to a question on the EU measures.

Western powers believe Iran is inching closer and closer to building a nuclear bomb and want it to return to talks on the issue, but Tehran vehemently denies this, saying its atomic programme is not for military purposes.

China -- a key ally of Iran and its top trading partner -- has consistently opposed the use of sanctions, and advocates resolving disputes through "dialogue and consultation" instead.

Beijing's economic ties with Tehran have expanded in recent years, partly thanks to the withdrawal of Western companies in line with sanctions against the Islamic republic over its nuclear drive.

The Asian powerhouse also depends a lot on Iranian oil, and has strengthened its presence in the country's oil and gas sector by signing a series of contracts worth up to $40 billion in the past few years.

Beijing's reaction to the crippling EU sanctions -- which involve an immediate ban on oil imports and a gradual phase-out of existing contracts between now and July 1 -- come after Russia said they were counterproductive.

"Unilateral sanctions do not help matters," Russian news agencies quoted Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov as saying Monday. "We will restrain everyone from making harsh moves. We will seek the resumption of negotiations."

Iran has threatened to block the strategic Strait of Hormuz -- through which much of the global trade in oil passes -- over the recent sanctions, sparking concern in China.

On a trip to the oil-rich states of Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) and Qatar earlier this month, China's Premier Wen Jiabao defended his country's oil trade with Iran as legitimate.

But he also signed energy deals in the UAE and Saudia Arabi -- Iran's arch-rival in the region -- as Iranian tensions force Beijing to look elsewhere.

According to Xinhua, the foreign ministry said China "hopes relevant parties will take approaches which are conducive to regional peace and stability."