EU sanctions on Iran, target European countries: Ahmadinejad

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad says the illegal sanctions that the European Union (EU) has imposed on the Islamic Republic are akin to double-edged sword which has left Europe worse off.

In a press conference with Kuwaiti journalists on Wednesday, Ahmadinejad said Iran has had no economic ties with the US over the past 33 years so the current sanctions actually target European countries.

Noting that he EU is currently on the verge of collapse, the Iranian president added, “They (European countries) have, in their own terms, boycotted Iran for five years. But the question is whether it is the economic situation in Iran or Europe which is in bad conditions today?”

The EU foreign ministers on Monday agreed on a new round of sanctions against Iran, in spite of a UN warning against the humanitarian ramifications of the previous bans.

The illegal sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded allegation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran rejects the allegations and argues that as a committed signatory to Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of International Atomic Energy Agency, it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

Ahmadinejad said the hostilities against the Islamic Republic began when the Iranian nation toppled the Western-backed regime of the Shah of Iran in 1979 and the West has since used every excuse for enmity against the country.

He added that using the nuclear issue as an excuse for hostility against Iran is a “historic mistake” as those who have tried to eliminate Iran, throughout its seven-thousand-year history, have been destroyed themselves and the Iranian nation still stands.

The Iranians will resist the sanctions and Iran has a very large economy that can manage without oil so “the arrogant powers have no choice but to change the situation,” Ahmadinejad said.

“The arrogant powers want to take revenge on the Iranian nation through the imposition of sanctions, but they will certainly fail.”