Global demand won’t allow bans on Iran petrochemical products

An Iranian deputy oil minister has ruled out the possibility of sanctions against Iran’s petrochemical products, saying the global demand precludes such a move.

“Due to the country’s capabilities in petrochemical industry, high demand in international markets, and the diversity of these markets, imposing sanctions against the petrochemical products of our country is not possible,” Abdolhossein Bayat told reporters on the sidelines of a Wednesday conference in the southern port city of Mahshahr.

With regard to the supplementary petrochemical industries, raw materials are abundant in Iran and the country’s saleable products in the field amount to 40 million tons, he added.

Bayat pointed to Iran’s comprehensive talks with the P5+1 group of world powers (permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), noting, “A proposal has been offered by the incumbent administration to the P5+1 group for lifting some of the unilateral embargoes which pertain to petrochemical industry.”

On May 31, the US Treasury Department issued a statement, announcing sanctions against eight Iranian petrochemical companies namely Bou Ali Sina, Mobin, Nouri, Pars, Shahid Tondgouyan, Shazand, Tabriz and Bandar Imam.

New bans were extension of previous sanctions imposed on Iran’s oil and financial sectors by the US and the European Union at the beginning of 2012, which aimed to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

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

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