Iran is blocking imports from Britain and South Korea as an apparent punishment for their opposition to Iran's nuclear program, diplomatic and industry sources said yesterday.
Iran said last month it could use trade to punish countries that voted for an International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) resolution on referring Tehran to the UN Security Council for possible sanctions over its nuclear program.
"We have received a verbal order from the Commerce Ministry, about a trade ban imposed on South Korean and British companies," said an official at a state manufacturing company, who spoke on condition of anonymity.
He said the order was due to the two countries' "hostility" towards Iran, such as over its nuclear program which Tehran insists is purely for peaceful purposes.
Presidential chief of staff Gholamhossein Elham refused to confirm the bans, but the semi-official ISNA students news agency quoted him as saying: "Political relations and views definitely have an impact on economic relations."
"Iran's political, economic and cultural relations with other countries are connected to one another and these relations have an impact on each other," he said.
Diplomats said Iran typically does not publicly acknowledge such moves but there was enough evidence to confirm the order had been given.
"Basically it means that goods are being held up in customs, letters of credit for imports are not being granted and so on," said a British diplomat who declined to be named.
Britain, which aside from the nuclear issue is also engaged in a row with Tehran over bombing accusations, has been on the receiving end of such measures several times in the past three years.
"Whenever things get a bit tense, this happens," the British diplomat said.
Meanwhile, Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad again linked Britain to the recent bombings in Ahvaz, ISNA news agency reported yesterday.
"No indications have yet been found rejecting our initial suspicions of British involvement [in Ahvaz], especially as terror and creating insecurity is one of the typical tactics by imperialistic countries like Britain," Ahmadinjead was quoted as saying by ISNA.
"We are, however, not in a position yet to make a final judgement, but our security and diplomatic channels are working on the case and will soon announce the final results of the investigations," he said.
Two handmade bombs killed six people and wounded more than 100 others last Saturday in Ahvaz, capital of the oil-rich Khuzestan province near the Iraqi border.
The intelligence service said Tuesday that more than 20 people were arrested in connection with the bombings but gave no further details on the alleged culprits.
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