Cairo, Jul 16 (IANS): Egypt will not stop transporting Iranian oil through the Suez Canal and internal pipelines despite the EU embargo on Tehran's oil exports, RIA Novosti reported.

The EU-brokered embargo on Iranian oil exports came into force July 1, six months after the 27-nation bloc, which stands for 18 percent of Iranian oil exports, introduced an oil embargo on Tehran.

"Iranian oil, like any other oil, is transported in terms of contracts which are updated every year. We have not received any notifications to ban oil shipments from Iran," a source in the Egyptian energy sector told Egypt's Al Ahram newspaper.

Iranian oil is transported through pipelines owned by Egypt's SUMED firm, the paper said.

"The embargo only affects the EU states, we do not have anything to do with it," the source added.

Western nations suspect Iran, which is already under UN Security Council sanctions, of pursuing a secret nuclear weapons programme. Tehran insists it needs nuclear power solely for civilian purposes.