Australia will follow EU ban on Iranian oil imports: Rudd

(LONDON) - Australian Foreign Minister Kevin Rudd said on Tuesday his country would follow the European Union in banning Iranian oil imports, after talks with his British counterpart in London.

"The actions taken in Brussels yesterday on sanctions by the European Union, we in Australia will undertake precisely the same parallel action for Australia," Rudd said after talks with William Hague.

"It is not just that we endorse the action taken in Brussels for Europe; we of course will do the same for Australia.

"The reason is very clear -- the message needs to be delivered to the people of Iran, the wider political elites of Iran, as well as the government of Iran, that their behaviour is globally unacceptable."

EU foreign ministers on Monday slapped an embargo on Iranian oil exports as Western powers upped the pressure on Tehran to return to negotiations amid concerns it is edging closer to building a nuclear bomb.

Iran denies that its nuclear programme is for military purposes and furiously denounced the EU measures.

The United States further tightened the noose with sanctions against Iran's state-owned Bank Tejarat, one of the few Iranian financial institutions which still has access to the international financial system.