Russia criticizes US over Iran sanctions

RUSSIA: Russian Foreign Ministry spokesman Alexander Lukashevich has criticized the United States for imposing sanctions on Iran over its nuclear energy programme, saying such measures only hamper efforts to resolve the West's dispute with Iran over the programme.

In an interview with the Voice of Russia on Thursday, Lukashevich described the unilateral sanctions as dangerous and inefficient.

He stated that the sanctions are imposed every time Iran and the P5+1 group (Britain, China, France, Russia, the United States, and Germany) plan to hold talks.

Lukashevich went on to say that the sanctions also have a negative impact on the Iranian nation and economy.

At the beginning of 2012, the US and the European Union imposed new sanctions on Iran's oil and financial sectors with the goal of preventing other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

On Wednesday, the US Treasury Department also announced new sanctions targeting Iranian oil revenue.The sanctions prevent Iran from gaining access to earnings garnered from its crude exports.

The illegal US-engineered sanctions were imposed based on the unfounded accusation that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program. Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a committed signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran's nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Iran's civilian nuclear program has been diverted to nuclear weapons production.

- PRESS TV