Iran vows to confront oil sanctionsJuly 1, 2012 - 17:21 AMT PanARMENIAN.Net - Iran has stored up imports and hard currency for a "battle" against "dastardly" EU sanctions, officials said Sunday, July 1, the day that the measures aimed at pressuring the Islamic Republic over its controversial nuclear program take effect, the Associated Press reports. Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi said the country has stockpiled the population's daily needs to reduce the impact of the embargo hitting the oil and banking sectors. "Today, we are facing the heaviest of sanctions and we ask people to help officials in this battle," Rahimi was quoted by state television's website as saying at a religious conference. He said the "dastardly sanctions" might cause "occasional confusion" in the market, but that the Iranian nation would not be stopped. Central bank governor Mahmoud Bahmani also told the semiofficial Mehr news agency that Iran has "plans" to deal with the embargo and enough hard currency to meet its import needs. The EU said earlier this week that all contracts for importing Iranian oil will have to be terminated from Sunday. Also, European companies will no longer be involved in insuring Iranian oil. "We have not remained passive. To confront the sanctions, we have plans in progress," said Bahmani. He did not elaborate on the plans. On Saturday Bahmani said Iran is "easily" selling its oil despite all current and future sanctions because some countries have received waivers from the U.S. to import some Iranian oil despite the punitive measures. The State Department has announced that China, India, Japan, Malaysia, South Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Turkey and Taiwan have been given waivers from the U.S. in exchange for "significantly reducing" oil imports. Iran's Oil Minister Rostam Ghasemi meanwhile ordered his staff to "mobilize" against "illegal sanctions," Mehr said. It did not say what the measures were. Late Saturday Ghasemi told state television that Iran has weathered previous rounds of sanctions. "I do not see it as a problem that enemies have imposed an embargo today," he said. "Simply, because they have imposed similar sanctions years ago, and nothing happened." He said Iran has already stopped selling oil to many EU countries and sold to others instead. "Developing countries and countries with fast economic growth have no alternative to oil. Fortunately, because of the quality of our country's oil, all are interest in using it." Top stories Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev arrived in Moscow on April 22 to hold talks with Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin. Authorities said a total of 192 Azerbaijani troops were killed and 511 were wounded during Azerbaijan’s offensive. In 2023, the Azerbaijani government will increase the country’s defense budget by more than 1.1 billion manats ($650 million). The bill, published on Monday, is designed to "eliminate the shortcomings of an unreasonably broad interpretation of the key concept of "compatriot". Partner news | Protest leader vows to achieve departure of Armenian authorities According to Archbishop Bagrat, there is only one solution to the situation in Armenia. Heads of Armenian, Ukrainian parliaments hold virtual talks Alen Simonyan and Ruslan Stefanchuk held talks via video conference on Tuesday, May 21. Pashinyan travels to Iran to pay tribute to Raisi, others Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan has left for the Islamic Republic of Iran on a working visit. Your home is in Armenia – Ameriabank offers mortgage loans for the Diaspora To buy real estate, Diasporans can apply to Ameriabank online to buy, renovate or build a home anywhere in Armenia. |