Iran fighting ‘smart economic war’- Ahmadinejad
IRAN: Iran is engaged in a “smart economic war” with Western powers
whose sanctions against its nuclear programme are hurting some Iranians,
President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday.
“Targeted sanctions, which the enemies say are supposed to be
crippling, have led to a drop in our oil” sales, Ahmadinejad said in a
live interview on state television, referring to an oil embargo imposed
by the European Union.
“They do not even let us transfer the oil money,” he said. “They
thought Iran's economy would break down, but it did not.” “Iran is
engaged in a smart economic war with the enemy,” he said.
The EU measure, which came into effect in July, ended European
purchases of Iranian crude, and has since decreased Tehran's oil exports
to its Asian customers from between 10 to 30 percent.
According to the International Energy Agency, Iranian exports in
November were estimated at 1.3 million barrels per day, down from nearly
2.3 million last year.
Ahmadinejad said his government had “so far managed to control” the
effects of sanctions on the economy but admitted that “heavy pressure
had been exerted on some Iranians because of sanctions.” He did not
elaborate on how Iran was fighting off sanctions for fear the methods
would be found by Western powers trying to goad Iran back to the
negotiating table over its nuclear ambitions.
“I cannot say what heavy pressure the enemy has imposed, and how we
are dealing with them.” “We have so far managed to control this blow,
and it hasn't turned out the way they predicted,” he said.
Ahmadinejad has faced increasingly scrutiny at home for economic
woes, including the collapse of the national currency, which lost more
than two-thirds of its value in a 20-day span starting in late
September.
Iran's economy is struggling to cope with the gradual tightening of
sanctions by the United States and the European Union over the past two
years.
The sanctions have also targeted Iran's access to the global banking
system, slowing its economy, accelerating inflation and boosting the
ranks of the jobless.
Ahmadinejad was speaking to report on his government's implementation
two years ago of a controversial plan to cut subsidies on food and
energy and redistribute it in form of social assistance.
The plan to generate tens of billions of dollars in additional
revenues for his government has been criticised by his opponents, who
blame it partially for Iran's runaway inflation.
Ahmadinejad said his government had devised schemes to diffuse the
effects of Western sanctions in the “long-term.” “We have prepared
long-term plans to decrease dependency on the oil-generated money. AFP |