Italian Traders Rap Gov’t’s Support for Western Embargos against Iran

Italian businessmen and traders lashed out at their government for supporting the western sanctions against Iran, reiterating that the embargos have troubled those of their trade exchanges with Iran which are not included in the list of sanctions resolutions.

Representatives of several Italian companies who attended a seminar on introduction of Iranian economic potentials in the Italian capital city of Rome on Thursday mentioned their problems in doing those financial deals with Iranian companies which are not included in the list of UN and EU sanctions against Iran, and rapped the Italian government for backing the sanctions.

The representatives described the EU approach to sanctions against Iran as a “politically-tainted move” which runs counter to the interests of both Europe and Italy.

“Italian and European officials should specify a certain banking channel for doing legal and legitimate dealings between European and Iranian companies and businessmen,” Head of Italy-Iran Chamber of Commerce Rosario Alessandro said in seminar.

He further described some EU approvals against Iran as “illegal”.

Many companies from different European countries had also earlier voiced their anger at the western sanctions against Iran, reiterating that the embargos have embattled their trade ties with Iranian firms and companies.

Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.

Tehran stresses that the country has always pursued a civilian path to provide power to the growing number of Iranian population, whose fossil fuel would eventually run dry.

Despite the rules enshrined in the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) entitling every member state, including Iran, to the right of uranium enrichment, Tehran is now under four rounds of UN Security Council (UNSC) sanctions and the unilateral western embargos for turning down West’s calls to give up its right of uranium enrichment.

Tehran has dismissed West’s demands as politically-tainted and illogical, stressing that sanctions and pressures merely consolidate Iranians’ national resolve to continue the path.

Tehran has repeatedly said that it considers its nuclear case closed as it has come clean of IAEA’s questions and suspicions about its past nuclear activities.