Iran dismisses oil sanction threats

Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast has dismissed the US-led threats of imposing oil sanctions against Tehran, saying that the West is incapable of removing Iran from energy transactions. A country like Iran, which has the world's fourth largest oil reserves and second gas reserves, cannot be eliminated from energy deals considering the current global energy situation, Mehmanparast told reporters at his weekly press conference in Tehran on Tuesday. He added that such sanctions will exert more pressure on those countries that are bent on using the bid to impose their will. Western countries will bear the brunt of damages resulting from an anti-Iran oil embargo, he said, adding that Western states have major differences in their approach to the issue. The spokesperson emphasized that Iran currently exports the least amount of oil and gas to European countries. Considering the enormous global demand for energy, I don't believe that even those countries that speak about imposing sanctions on Iran's oil sector can be serious about their remarks, Mehmanparast said. The spokesman's remarks came as Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Qasemi said on Monday that the proposed sanctions on the Iranian oil sector by the US and its European allies is nothing new as the country has grown accustomed to sanctions over the years. “In all the years that the Islamic Republic of Iran has been subject to various sanctions, good use has been made of the opportunity of sanctions,” he added. “However, we will push ahead with our projects every day better than the past,” Qasemi said. Meanwhile, Mehmanparast rejected any link between the slump of Iran's currency as well as the fluctuation in the stock markets and the latest unilateral US sanctions targeting the Central Bank of Iran (CBI). It is obvious that the fluctuation in the stock markets has nothing to do with sanctions and foreign policy, he said, adding that the sanctions “have yet to be implemented.” On January 1, US President Barak Obama signed into law fresh economic sanctions against the CBI and Iran's financial sector. The bill requires foreign financial firms to make a choice between either doing business with the CBI and Iran's oil sector or with the US financial sector. Moreover, On November 21, 2011, the United States and Britain imposed fresh sanctions targeting Iran's financial and energy sectors after the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) released its latest report on Tehran's nuclear program on November 8, 2011. Despite the widely publicized claims by the US, Israel and some of their European allies that Iran's nuclear program may include a military diversion, Iran steadfastly insists on its civilian nature. Tehran argues that as a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the IAEA, it has the right to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.