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Iranian Planes Denied Fuel in UK, Germany, UAE
A top Iranian airline official says Iranian planes have been refused fuel at airports in other countries, since the United States implemented new sanctions against Iran last week.The Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Mehdi Aliyari as saying airports in Britain, Germany and the United Arab Emirates have refused fuel for Iranian planes. He said the refusals began after U.S. President Barack Obama signed a new sanctions package into law that targets Iran's energy and banking sectors. At the same time, Iran is dismissing the economic impact of the sanctions. Speaking Monday at the opening of a steel plant in Azerbaijan province, President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said the Iranian people will prove the sanctions to be a failure. Oil Minister Massoud Mir-Kazemi said the sanctions were "nothing new" and would not affect Iran's energy sector. The new U.S. sanctions aim to make it harder for Iran's government to buy refined petroleum and exclude from U.S. markets companies involved in selling gasoline, jet fuel and other such products to Iran. The sanctions also prevent foreign banks from accessing the U.S. financial system if they do business with key Iranian institutions or Iran's Revolutionary Guards. Mr. Obama said the new sanctions will strike "at the heart" of Iran's ability to fund and develop its alleged nuclear weapons program. Last month, the U.N. Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions on Iran because it has refused to stop its uranium enrichment program. The European Union then imposed its own sanctions against Iran, including a ban on transfers of technology to Iran's oil and natural gas sector. Iran says its nuclear program is peaceful, but Western nations suspect Iran is trying to build weapons. Posted by: tipper 2010-07-05 |
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