“There is no doubt that [imposition] of sanctions is a failed policy and we are surprised that the US administration and other governments involved in these sanctions constantly repeat such a wrong and failed policy,” Araqchi said on Monday.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesman said imposing and increasing sanctions is definitely not a solution to the issue of Iran’s nuclear energy program.
“Removing sanctions, of course, would be regarded as a confidence-building measure and could help resolve the issue, but increasing sanctions will have no result other than complicating the issue and making it harder to resolve,” Araqchi stated.
The latest illegal sanctions imposed by the US against the Islamic Republic came into effect on July 1. The measures target Iran’s shipping and automobile industries and ban the sale or barter of gold to the country as well as handling of the Iranian currency, the rial.
On June 3, White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said the new sanctions target Iran’s currency “by authorizing the imposition of sanctions on foreign financial institutions that knowingly conduct or facilitate significant transactions for the purchase or sale of the Iranian rial, or that maintain significant accounts outside Iran denominated in the Iranian rial.”
At the beginning of 2012, the United States and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.
The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Iran rejects the allegation and argues that it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
The IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities, but has never found any evidence showing that the Iranian nuclear energy program has been diverted to non-civilian purposes.
