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Saturday, January 28, 2012

Tehran Friday Prayers Leader:
Sanctions Aimed at Affecting Elections

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Tehran’s interim Friday prayers leader, Ayatollah Seyyed Ahmad Khatami, said that the main objective of the European Union to impose economic sanctions and oil embargo on Iran is to adversely influence the upcoming elections in Iran.
Ayatollah Khatami made the remarks during Tehran’s Friday prayers sermon. However, he noted that such hostile policies by the EU will not affect Iran’s economy.
“Considering a six-month deadline for execution of sanctions on Iran shows that they have targeted Iran’s upcoming parliamentary elections slated for March 3,” Ayatollah Khatami added.
The cleric said the European Union decision to impose oil sanctions on Iran will have no impact on Iranian economy.
“The EU embargo on the purchase of Iran's oil is not a new matter. Such a hostile policy lacks a real impact on Iran's economy,” he said.
Ayatollah Khatami, who is a member of the Assembly of Experts, said the obvious reason behind the bloc's six-month deadline is that crises-hit EU states want to assess the situation.
He emphasized that European countries, particularly Spain, Italy, Greece and France, buy merely 17 percent of Iran's oil but they are currently sinking in their own problems with billions of dollars in debt.
EU foreign ministers reached an agreement on January 23 to impose an immediate ban on oil imports from Iran over the country's nuclear program as of July 1.
The 27-member bloc agreed to ban oil imports as well as petroleum products from the major OPEC member state and freeze the assets of the Central Bank of Iran across the EU.
The EU also imposed a ban on the sale of gold, diamonds, and other precious metals to Iran.
Following the EU's move, Iranian lawmakers announced that the Majlis will discuss the subject of putting a halt to the sale of Iran's oil to European countries.