Total stops purchases of Iranian oil upon penalty of sanctions

French oil giant Total SA has stopped buying Iranian oil in July, its CEO Patrick Pouyanné said, as companies start cutting imports before the U.S. deadline to end purchases of Iranian oil as part of renewed sanctions.

The U.S. administration has set November 4 as a deadline to end purchases of Iranian oil as part of return of Washington’s sanctions against Tehran.

Speaking at the Oil & Money conference in London, the CEO said that the global oil market is "well supplied". "Inventories are continuing to grow, prices are high not because of demand but because of political issues," the WSJ cited Pouyanné as saying.