Iran’s Supreme Leader says the Islamic Republic has been inoculated against sanctions after enduring three decades of them.
Ayatollah Khamenei was quoted as saying: “The West is making publicity about sanctions against Iran but they do not realize that they have vaccinated the Iranian nation against every kind of sanction by subjecting it to sanctions over the past three decades.”
ISNA reports that the Iranian leader said: “Iranian people have resisted all forms of conspiracies and sanctions in the past three decades at the cost of their lives, livelihoods and their loved ones, and they have even progressed despite it, so that we are now 100 times stronger than 30 years ago.”
Recent sanctions imposed on Iran’s petroleum exports and its financial institutions by the EU and the United States have been referred to as the toughest measures to date, even by some Iranian political figures.
The Iranian government has begun drafting emergency action plans to counter the effects of the sanctions.
The EU member states have completely boycotted Iranian oil exports, while Iran’s other oil customers have also significantly reduced their oil dealings with Iran.
EU companies have now stopped insuring Iranian oil tankers, creating further difficulty for Iran to sell its oil.
Meanwhile, other OPEC members such as Saudi Arabia and Iraq have increased their oil production to make up for Iran’s diminished presence in the intenational market.
The Iranian economy appears to be hit hard by the sanctions, with rapidly rising prices and a currency in freefall.
EU and U.S. sanctions are said to be aimed at forcing Iran to follow international demands regarding its nuclear program.
