Despite new UN and US sanctions, Tehran is showing no signs of abandoning its nuclear programme, writes Rasha Saad Days after the US passed new unilateral sanctions against Tehran that target its fuel imports, Iranian officials accused the UK, Germany and the United Arab Emirates (UAE) of refusing to provide fuel to Iranian passenger planes. "Since last week, after the passing of the unilateral law by America and the sanctions against Iran, airports in England, Germany, and the UAE have refused to give fuel to Iranian planes," the ISNA news agency quoted Mehdi Aliyari, secretary of the Iranian Airlines Union, as saying. Aliyari said their refusal has so far impacted Iran Air, the national carrier, and a leading private airline, Mahan Air, as both operate flights to Europe. Despite quiet denials by the three countries, Heshmatollah Falahat-Pisheh, an MP and member of the Iranian parliament's Foreign Policy and National Security Committee, warned of retaliatory action by Tehran, especially towards the UAE. "We should definitely do the same thing to the Emirates, Britain and Germany whose planes need to be refuelled in Iran," he told ISNA. US companies are already not allowed to trade with or invest in Iran. Now, according to new sanctions that target the energy and banking sectors in Iran, foreign companies that invest in Iran's energy sector can be sanctioned under existing US law. "Companies that finance, broker or underwrite the shipments or deliver the gasoline also would be subject to sanctions. Likewise, companies that sell Iranian goods, services, or knowhow that assists it in developing its energy sector would be sanctioned," read the legislation passed by Congress last week. The US unilateral sanctions came weeks after the UN imposed further sanctions of its own. They are believed to aim at tightening the noose on Tehran after world powers failed to convince Russia and China, who have oil and gas interests in Iran, to act against these industries. The new US sanctions, which US President Barack Obama described as "the toughest ever passed by the US Congress," came as a surprise after he vowed in 2009 that "my administration is now committed to diplomacy that addresses the full range of issues before us." The sanctions also came despite a breakthrough in May when Brazil and Turkey brokered a deal in which Iran would send some of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey in exchange for higher-grade nuclear fuel for a medical research reactor. China said Tuesday that the United States and other countries should not expand on the latest UN sanctions imposed on Iran over its nuclear programme. "China supports the UN sanctions. China believes that countries should [ensure] correct implementation of the sanctions instead of expanding the sanctions," Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Qin Gang told a news conference in Beijing. China has also said its support for sanctions should not block efforts to find a diplomatic solution, and has called for renewed attempts to bring Iran back to the negotiating table. The US strong arm policy has also been criticised as potentially backfiring and leading Iran to be more persistent in defending its nuclear activities. Ray Takeyh, a senior fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations, warned in The New York Times that lacking a sophisticated arms industry and increasingly unable to access traditional suppliers such as Russia, Iran is likely to become even more attached to the deterrent value of nuclear arms. "The sanctions may bring Iran back to the table, but it will be an Iran determined not to cede its nuclear trump card," Takeyh wrote. There are also fears that putting too much pressure on the Iranians will create more instability in the already chaotic Middle East. An increasing Iranian role in Iraq, Lebanon and with the Palestinians can be used to counter any Western pressure. Yet, the Iranians are downplaying the impact of sanctions on their country. Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said Saturday that the US latest sanctions were "pathetic", warning world powers that they would regret their bullying. Ahmadinejad insisted that the measures would not hurt Iran's economy or stop Iran taking a greater role in world affairs. "Iran is much greater than what they can imagine in their small minds," he said. Iranians take pride that since the 1979 Islamic Revolution they have been not only able to survive several waves of sanctions as well as a devastating eight year war with Iraq, but were also able to acquire modern technology, including nuclear knowhow. Endurance, however, came at a heavy price, as high rates of poverty and unemployment attest. Indeed, unemployment is estimated, by Iranian and foreign statistics centres, to run as high as 4- 4.5 million in a country of just over 71 million. Larger numbers are routinely cited by the opposition at home and abroad. According to Iran's Department of Statistics, 10 million Iranians live under the "absolute poverty line" and 30 million live under the "relative poverty line". Iran's official inflation rate has now reached 13.5 per cent, though the actual rate is believed to be twice as high. The government, since the 1980-1988 war with Iraq, subsidises the price of numerous goods and services, including bread, milk, sugar, rice and wheat, electricity, water, fertilisers, telephone services, public transport, and education. Gasoline and other energy products are amongst the most heavily subsidised. In total, subsidies constitute a heavy burden at around a third of the state budget. In March, the Iranian parliament approved $20 billion in energy and food subsidy cuts, around half of the savings demanded by Ahmadinejad's government. The proposed reductions aim at cutting by 40 per cent the amount the government spends on subsidies per year. The plan comes amidst political upheaval in Iran following the presidential elections last year. The new measures are feared to cause more unrest. Meanwhile, President Ahmadinejad requested that Turkey and Brazil be added to the five permanent UN Security Council member states plus Germany involved in the nuclear programme negotiations. He said that talks would not resume before the end of August -- a delay intended to "punish" the West.
