‘Iran sanctions hit Thai businesses’ - Gayo Lues

Anirut Samutkochorn said not only would the Western sanctions against Tehran ultimately fail but they would also backfire, The Bangkok Post reported on Sunday.

Anirut, who is involved in numerous businesses with Iran, demanded to know why he and many other ordinary businesses should be affected by the sanctions.

“We have got nothing to do with any political issues. We’re just trying to make a normal living. It’s not just the Iranians who are being affected but us Thais as well,” said Anirut.

However, he stressed, “We are businessmen, and we will always find a way. Some of us may find it too difficult, and choose to opt out, but then they will lose the business to someone else who is willing to give it a try.”

Instead, Anirut called on the Thai government to evaluate the future of its own economic and trade relations with the US saying, “Why should we have to toe the line on all their anti-dumping, safety, intellectual property and other regulations that they use to protect their own businesses?”

The United States, Israel and some of their allies accuse Tehran of pursuing military objectives in its nuclear energy program and have used this pretext to push for four rounds of UN sanctions and a series of unilateral sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

On New Year’s Eve, the United States imposed new sanctions against Iran aimed at preventing other countries from importing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with its central bank.

European Union foreign ministers also approved sanctions against Iran’s oil and financial sectors on January 23, including a ban on Iranian oil imports, a freeze on the assets of the country’s central bank within EU states, and a ban on selling grains, diamonds, gold, and other precious metals to Tehran.

Iran has repeatedly refuted the Western allegations regarding its nuclear energy program, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

HMV/AZ/HGH