Sunday, October 31, 2010

Ahmadinejad: Sanctions Have Failed

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said in Tehran on Saturday that UN, US and EU sanctions against his country have been the “most ridiculous and failed” move adopted by the world powers.

"Imposing sanctions on Iran was the most ridiculous political decision ever. It was a failed thing from the beginning," Ahmadinejad said [IRIB, 30 October].

"What do you want to sanction? Energy. We are energy producers. We have the second largest reserves of energy products in the world," Ahmadinejad added.

Iran's Commerce Minister Mehdi Ghazanfari also reiterated Ahmadinejad’s take on the sanctions, calling them “ineffective,” [IRNA, 30 October].

However, the president of the Iranian Chamber of Commerce had said earlier that the sanctions had begun to take a toll.

"Sanctions can't halt the importation of goods into Iran but estimates indicate that the cost of imports has increased between 15 to 30 percent,” said Mohammad Nahavandian, the Chamber president [ISNA, 27 October].

On Saturday, Ahmadinejad also said that Iran’s foreign exchange reserves exceed $100 billion.

"The country's foreign exchange reserves have been estimated at $100 billion, but it's definitely more than this figure," said Ahmadinejad [IRNA, 30 October].

Iran's Central Bank Governor Mahmoud Bahmani said Tehran has boosted its reserves by buying “hundreds of tons” of gold at a price that has since doubled [IRNA, 30 October].

3 comments:

Anonymous said...

These sore loser sanctions under Zionist pressure and lies may cause some temporary inconvenience to Iranians but in the long-run they only stiffen national resolve and KHOD KAFEI (self-sufficiency).

As the excellent analysis by Mr. Amir Taheri recently highlighted, Iran is far from being "isolated". Iran's economy is well integrated with the rising powers, particularly the Chinese superpower, Asian nations, Latin America and other nations of the rapidly developing non-aligned world.

Iranian diplomacy has been very successful. The sheer volume of major foreign heads of state, trade and diplomatic visitors attests to Iran's growing international stature.

In any case, it is totally delusional to think that a nation of 75 million, with over 85% literacy rates, youthful industrious population, a well developed 6000 year old nationalism and embedded national identity, sitting on the world's second and third largest gas and petroleum reserves with a land-mass of over 1.64 million kms with 8 land borders and a massive coastal access of 2440 kms from the Indian Ocean to Arvand Rood. Iran also borders the Caspian Sea (740 kms)and is strategically poised at the gateway to Central Asia and Europe.

It is indeed an insane self-destructive US policy under the Zionist Stuart Levey to even think that Iran can somehow be sanctioned and "brought to its knees".

Even tiny Cuba, an island surrounded by US with barely 10 million people and no known resources has withstood a total US "embargo" for over 50 years. The case of North Korea is another shining example of the "success" of US impotent sanctions. North Korea today has one of the most modern nuclear arsenal and global delivery systems, despite US rants and futile attempts to "isolate" and "punish" it for over 50 years.

If the Zionists think that Iran can be effectively "sanctioned" they have thing coming. So Dr. Ahmadinejad is largely correct in stating the obvious. Iran is a bridge too far.

Anonymous said...

It is interesting to note that the Zionist muppet Stuart Levey is also acknowledging the same conclusion:

US Treasury's point man on sanctions Stuart Levey says Iran's neighbors have no interest in implementing UN Security Council sanctions against the Islamic Republic.


Last week, the US Undersecretary of Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence traveled to Turkey in a bid to pressure Iran's neighbor into "cooperation" on sanction against the country.

During his visit, Levey met with banking sector leaders, representatives of private industries, and with the Turkish foreign and finance ministers.

Earlier this month, Turkish President Abdullah Gul voiced Ankara's determination to boost trade ties with Iran, despite US pressure to halt trade with the Islamic Republic.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan announced later that Ankara plans to triple its trade volume with Iran within five years and said, "Our bilateral trade ties have reached USD 10 billion ... when we complete our preferential trade agreement we can reach a bilateral trade volume of USD 30 billion in five years."

In an interview with state-run BBC Persian, Levey said the only thing that the US can do is to convince countries, especially Iran's neighbors that do not want to implement sanctions, that imposing sanctions is necessary and the best way to achieve what US President Barack Obama wants, Fars News Agency reported on Saturday.

The UN Security Council adopted a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran in June under intense pressure from the US, which claims Iran's nuclear program may have potential military applications.

Shortly after the imposition of UN sanctions, the US, which possesses and has used nuclear weapons in the past, in a politically-motivated move imposed additional sanctions against the Islamic Republic, which does not possess nuclear weapons nor seeks to develop such weapons.

The US then pressured Japan, Canada, and Australia to impose similar unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic, targeting investments in the country's energy-related industries.

Iran says that as a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty, it has the right to use the peaceful applications of nuclear energy for electricity generation and medical research.

Regarding the ineffectiveness of sanctions, Iranian officials maintain that having numerous neighbors and a diverse range of trade partners gives the country a special economic obscurity.

The total value of Iran's exports reached USD 14.448 billion which indicated a 23 percent increase compared with last year.

Anonymous said...

As with all tyrants, it's the people who suffer quality of life.

11:22 Your a total idiot if you believe the people of Cuba and North Korea have prospered under such leaders. In Cuba, they are still driving cars that are over 60 years old and how can you even compare the economies of North and South Korea?

The Iranian people suffer the most from the actions of Amadinejad because he is only focused on hate and bombs.

With 75 million people and a literacy rate of 85%, the Iranian people need to take back their country because it does have such a rich history and could offer so much good to the world.

With this continued attitude of hate that Amadinejad promotes, Iran will only be a fraction of the nation it could be.