Iran on Thursday said the West was applying double standards when dealing with Tehran after the U.N. Security Council imposed new sanctions targeting the Islamic Republic’s nuclear activities. Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said the “best way to respect rights of all nations is avoiding discriminatory attitudes and removing the existing injustice in the international arena,” the IRNA news agency reported.
He stressed that the imposition of new sanctions was “incorrect and illegal” and aimed at preventing Iran from obtaining “peaceful nuclear technology.” The Security Council, which had passed three previous sanctions resolution on Iran, on Wednesday approved a new resolution containing what are seen as crippling measures against Iran’s nuclear activities, including authorising all states to seize suspect cargo ships, banning exports of helicopters and battle tanks to Iran, and targeting businesses connected to the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad rejected the resolution as “not worth a penny for Iran.” Meanwhile, a leading member of Iran’s Parliament said he would push for a vote on reducing relations with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the U.N. nuclear watchdog, the Mehr news agency said. Aleddin Boroujerdi, the chairman of the committee on national security and foreign policy, said deliberation on draft legislation would start on Sunday. Iran’s Parliament has threatened several times in the past to sever ties with the IAEA.
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