Sanctions, declaration of war on Iran

A senior Iranian lawmaker says the new round of anti-Iran UN Security Council sanctions is an open declaration of war against Iran by the six major powers.

Speaking to Fars news agency on Sunday, member of the Iranian Parliament’s Foreign Policy and National Security Commission Mohammad Karami-Rad said the administration of US President Barack Obama was never truly after a nuclear fuel exchange with Iran.

Referring to Tehran’s willingness for a nuclear fuel swap, the Iranian lawmaker said, “The US sees the issue of the exchange of uranium as a political one while it is a routine, commercial matter.”

“President Obama did not expect Iran to accept to exchange its 3.5 percent enriched uranium with a 20 percent enriched batch outside Iranian soil,” Karami-Rad said.

He further pointed out that a Western call on Turkey and Brazil for mediation in Iran’s nuclear issue was only a political gesture, adding that Washington’s estimation of a low chance of success for the nuclear fuel swap prompted the call.

Karami-Rad also slammed the double standard policies of the West in dealing with Iran, saying, “the adoption of the 1929 UN resolution after the issuance of Tehran’s [nuclear] statement was an open declaration of war by the P5+1 against Iran and all the free nations of the world.”

According to the Iranian national security official, the West made its utmost efforts to prevent Iran from achieving a complete nuclear fuel cycle and went on to warn against the adverse effects of confrontation with the Islamic Republic.

“If the US and Western countries go beyond sanctions and endanger the interests of the Islamic Republic, they should rest assured that they will pay a heavy price,” he noted.

The lawmaker went on to say that countries which have trade and economic relations with Iran “will never sacrifice their interests for the US dual policies.”

Karami-Rad reiterated that Iran would remain committed to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) while expressing willingness for the continuation of talks in line with the International Atomic Energy Agency regulations.

The remarks come as Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad recently expressed Tehran’s readiness to resume dialogue with Western powers opposing Iran’s civilian nuclear program.

As a signatory to the NPT, Tehran argues that it has the right to peaceful nuclear technology, rejecting US and Israeli-led accusations that it is pursuing a military objective in its nuclear program.