Iran knows how to bypass sanctions

An Iranian lawmaker says Tehran has learned how to bypass sanctions and by establishing ties with different countries turn threats into opportunities.

“If resolutions and sanctions were going to be effective, the first resolutions would have worked and there would be no need for passing four UN Security Council (UNSC) resolutions,” member of Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Committee Seyyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said.

He went on to add that the head of International Atomic Energy Agency has reiterated the non-diversion of Iran’s nuclear program in nearly 22 statements and said, “The US is merely pursuing political objectives and intends to tighten pressure on Iran.”

Naqavi Hosseini said that the Israeli lobby was the force behind the adoption of resolutions against Iran and described sending messages to international personalities in defense of the Iranian nation’s nuclear rights as the only way to counter anti-Iran efforts.

The Iranian lawmaker went on to add that Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki’s letters to the 15 members of the UNSC written in critique of serial resolutions against Iran was effective.

On June 9, the UNSC adopted a resolution imposing a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. The US and EU also imposed unilateral sanctions against Tehran shortly afterwards.

Tehran rejects Western accusations that it intends to develop nuclear weapons, and has asserted that Iran’s nuclear capabilities are only aimed at peaceful purposes such as the development of the country’s energy and medical infrastructure.