Tehran: A decision by the European Union to
impose an embargo on Iranian oil exports is "unfair" and "doomed to fail," Iran's foreign ministry said Tuesday.
"The method of threat, pressure and unfair sanctions against a nation that has a strong reason for its approach is
doomed to fail," ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said,
quoted by the state broadcaster's website.
The spokesman said the newly adopted punitive measures
would not "prevent Iran from achieving its inalienable rights"
in the nuclear field.
He added that the EU had adopted the decision "under the political pressure of the United States," and advised the bloc to value its interests instead of bowing to Washington.
EU foreign ministers agreed on an immediate ban on Iran's
oil imports and a phase-out of existing contracts up to July
1. They also froze the assets of the country's central bank
while ensuring legitimate trade under strict conditions.
But Mehmanparast said the oil embargo could not become
reality given the European Union's "economic crisis".
"It seems the American authorities want to disrupt the
energy sources of their rivals and weaken their economic
rivals under the pretext of piling up political pressure on
Iran," he said.
He added any country that wants to deprive itself of
Iran's vast energy reserves would be "immediately replaced by
other countries."
Tehran insists its nuclear work is designed to master
civilian applications of the technology, despite suspicions in
the West that Israel's arch-foe is developing an atomic
weapons programme.
PTI
First Published: Tuesday, January 24, 2012, 09:30