Iran: sanctions aim at propagandistic, psychological war

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Tuesday that latest Western sanctions against the country aim at propagandistic and psychological war.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast speaks during a press conference in Tehran, Iran, Nov. 22, 2011. Mehmanparast said on Tuesday that latest Western sanctions against the country aim at propagandistic and psychological war. [Xinhua]

The recent move by certain Western countries to put sanctions on Iran shows their hostility toward the Iranian nation and is an "experienced and futile act," said the spokesman at his weekly press briefing.

On Monday, the United States and its allies Britain and Canada announced new sanctions against Iran, in the wake of a report by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) that expressed concern over Tehran's controversial nuclear program.

"Everybody knows that our trade exchange with the U.S. and UK is at its lowest level," said Mehmanparast.

In the meantime, Iran has increased the volume of its trade ties with other countries and the volume of Iran's trade exchanges with other countries shows a 36 percent rise in the past 12 months in comparison with the same period last year, he added.

"In the eyes of our nations Western sanctions are condemned and fruitless," said the spokesman.

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton announced in Washington on Monday that President Barack Obama signed an executive order that for the first time specifically targets Iran's petrochemical industry, and also expanded sanctions on Iran's oil and gas business.

Alongside Clinton, U.S. Treasury Secretary Timothy Geithner warned the financial institutions around the world of the serious risks of "doing business with Iran."

Clinton described the new sanctions as "a significant ratcheting up of pressure on Iran, its sources of income and its illegal activities."

Meanwhile, Britain on Monday severed all links with Iranian banks as part of the country's new financial sanctions against Tehran.

From 1500 GMT Monday, all Britain credit and financial institutions are required to cease business relationships and transactions with all Iranian banks, including the Central Bank of Iran, and their branches and subsidiaries.

This is the first time for Britain to cut off an entire country 's banking sector from its financial business.

According to a statement from the British Treasury, Iranian banks played a crucial role in providing financial services to individuals and entities within Iran's nuclear and ballistic missile programs.

Canada's new sanctions against Iran, announced by Foreign Affairs Minister John Baird, prohibit financial transactions with Iran, subject to certain exceptions; expand the list of prohibited goods to include all goods used in the petrochemical, oil and gas industry in Iran; amend the list of prohibited goods to include additional items that could be used in Iran's nuclear program.

Canada also added new individuals and entities to the list of designated persons under sanctions, and removed certain entities that no longer present a proliferation concern.

In June last year, the UN Security Council adopted a resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions against Iran. Soon afterward, the United States, the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Canada and several other countries also placed unilateral sanctions on the Islamic republic. Large amounts of foreign investments left the country after these sanctions were imposed.

Mehdi Ghazanfari, Iran's minister of Industry, Mine and Commerce, said Monday that the West's sanctions on Iran has a two- way impact and is a lose-lose strategy where both sides will suffer.

Responding to a reporter's question concerning the impact of potential U.S. sanctions against Iran, especially in the energy sector, Ghazanfari said that this is a lose-lose scenario, that is, Iran will be under the sanction pressures, the outcome of sanctions will be costly for the country and money transfer will be harder.

Adopting sanctions will not be for the good of the West either and it will harm their interests too, Ghazanfari stressed.

If they do not invest in Iran's energy sector, they will lose Iran's energy industry market for at least 20 years, the Iranian minister said, adding that in the face of sanctions from Western countries, Iran will think of other substitutes.

There are other ways for cooperation and investments, and there are several ways for Iran to connect to the world, he said, pointing out that local producers and investors can step in and offset the impact of sanctions.

On Monday, Ghazanfari said that sanctions will further create distance between the sides and will not help settle the problems, adding that it is better to think of reasonable and logical ways to solve the issues.