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.
LANDMARK CASE: ‘Every night we were dragged to US soldiers and sexually abused. Every week we were forced to undergo venereal disease tests,’ a victim said More than 100 South Korean women who were forced to work as prostitutes for US soldiers stationed in the country have filed a landmark lawsuit accusing Washington of abuse, their lawyers said yesterday. Historians and activists say tens of thousands of South Korean women worked for state-sanctioned brothels from the 1950s to 1980s, serving US troops stationed in country to protect the South from North Korea. In 2022, South Korea’s top court ruled that the government had illegally “established, managed and operated” such brothels for the US military, ordering it to pay about 120 plaintiffs compensation. Last week, 117 victims
China on Monday announced its first ever sanctions against an individual Japanese lawmaker, targeting China-born Hei Seki for “spreading fallacies” on issues such as Taiwan, Hong Kong and disputed islands, prompting a protest from Tokyo. Beijing has an ongoing spat with Tokyo over islands in the East China Sea claimed by both countries, and considers foreign criticism on sensitive political topics to be acts of interference. Seki, a naturalised Japanese citizen, “spread false information, colluded with Japanese anti-China forces, and wantonly attacked and smeared China”, foreign ministry spokesman Lin Jian told reporters on Monday. “For his own selfish interests, (Seki)
Argentine President Javier Milei on Sunday vowed to “accelerate” his libertarian reforms after a crushing defeat in Buenos Aires provincial elections. The 54-year-old economist has slashed public spending, dismissed tens of thousands of public employees and led a major deregulation drive since taking office in December 2023. He acknowledged his party’s “clear defeat” by the center-left Peronist movement in the elections to the legislature of Buenos Aires province, the country’s economic powerhouse. A deflated-sounding Milei admitted to unspecified “mistakes” which he vowed to “correct,” but said he would not be swayed “one millimeter” from his reform agenda. “We will deepen and accelerate it,” he
Japan yesterday heralded the coming-of-age of Japanese Prince Hisahito with an elaborate ceremony at the Imperial Palace, where a succession crisis is brewing. The nephew of Japanese Emperor Naruhito, Hisahito received a black silk-and-lacquer crown at the ceremony, which marks the beginning of his royal adult life. “Thank you very much for bestowing the crown today at the coming-of-age ceremony,” Hisahito said. “I will fulfill my duties, being aware of my responsibilities as an adult member of the imperial family.” Although the emperor has a daughter — Princess Aiko — the 23-year-old has been sidelined by the royal family’s male-only
RSS