Iran dismisses impact of imminent EU oil embargo
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E-mail Xinhua, July 1, 2012
Iranian lawmakers and vice president on Saturday dismissed the potential impact of imminent European Union (EU) oil embargo on the Islamic republic.
A number of Iranian lawmakers said Saturday that the EU oil embargo to take effect from Sunday will not affect Iran's emerging and growing economy, the official IRNA news agency reported.
EU's oil embargo on the Islamic republic is "very little and insignificant" as the country has confronted such "psychological" war for the past three decades, the report quoted an Iranian lawmaker as saying.
The lawmaker, Gholamreza Mesbahi-Moghadam, said Iran's enemies and those pushing for sanctions should know the pressures would lead to nowhere.
Economic sanctions and Western pressure will have no effect on Iran's determination on its path towards development and progress, Mesbahi-Moghadam told IRNA.
Another lawmaker, Arsalan Fathipour, told IRNA that "In general, such sanctions have never been able to hinder Iranians' will to progress."
"For sure, this round of (EU) sanctions is fabricated hype," Fathipour said, adding that they will not bear any fruit for its implementers anymore.
Economic commission of Iranian Majlis (parliament) has held sessions to confront the EU embargo and will announce its scientific and pragmatic policies in the following days, the lawmaker was quoted as saying.
The Islamic establishment will never surrender to such coercive measures and is able to circumvent the sanctions, Fathipour, chairman of Majlis Economic Commission, was quoted as saying.
The main losers of the sanctions against the Islamic republic will be the United States and the EU member states, he added.
Esmail Kowsari, another Iranian lawmaker, told IRNA that the imposition of EU sanctions are indicative of EU's "hypocritical" policies over Iran's nuclear issue.
The EU countries have stated that they wanted to enter negotiations with Iran to reach positive results, but their new move of sanctions against Iran proved that they were not sincere to the world, IRNA quoted Kowsari as saying.
The member of National Security and Foreign Policy Commission of Iranian Majlis stressed that "If their (EU's) new round of sanction takes effect and the Islamic republic cannot sell its oil, the Iranian officials will definitely develop the necessary mechanisms."
For sure, such measures of sanction will cause problems in the course of nuclear talks between Iran and the world powers, he maintained.
During intensive talks in the Russian capital Moscow on June 18 and June 19, Iran and the P5+1 -- the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany -- did not sign any agreements but agreed to meet again in Turkey's Istanbul in early July at the expert level.
Iranian First Vice President Mohammad-Reza Rahimi said Saturday that the Islamic republic welcomes Western oil embargo because harsh punitive measures against Iran both signify the country's power and strengthen its self-reliance, the semi-official Fars news agency reported.
Rahimi said Israel is behind sanction pressures against the Islamic republic, and called on the country's officials to embrace the sanctions as they would consolidate the nation's unity and progress, according to Fars.
"We should greet the oil sanctions provided that we stay together," Rahimi said when addressing a ceremony on the occasion of the National Day of Industry and Mine on Saturday.
"Tough sanctions indicate Iran's greatness and grandeur," Rahimi said.
Iran's chief nuclear negotiator Saeed Jalili said that " illegitimate" moves by the West will harm nuclear talks, the semi- official Mehr news agency reported on Friday.
In a letter to EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton on Thursday, Jalili warned that "the use of illegitimate tools," implying sanctions, against Iran will hurt the ongoing talks between Iran and the major powers, according to the report.
Iran is ready to play a role in the initiatives which pave the way for successful talks, he said.
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