VIENNA - Sanctions imposed on Iran by the international community have had no impact on the Islamic republic's disputed nuclear activities, the country's envoy to the UN atomic watchdog said Friday.
Those feeling the brunt are instead the sick and elderly stuck on Iran Air planes that cannot refuel due to restrictions, said Ali Asghar Soltanieh, envoy to the International Atomic Energy Agency, who insisted that the Iranian people remain united behind the nuclear effort.
Soltanieh appeared to be referring to the fact that Western companies have stopped refuelling Iranian planes in compliance with U.S. sanctions that Tehran says violate international law.
While Iran claims it is pursuing nuclear energy for peaceful purposes, the United States and its allies suspect it is trying to develop atomic arms. Iran is under four sets of UN Security Council sanctions for refusing to stop uranium enrichment, an activity that can lead to making both nuclear fuel and fissile warhead material.
On Monday, the European Union expanded its sanctions against the country. Sanctions from the UN and EU include an asset freeze and travel bans on Iranian officials and companies with links to the nuclear program. Some also target Iran's powerful Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Earlier this month, a report by UN experts said Iran is continuing to use front companies and other concealment methods to circumvent UN sanctions but that the bans have succeeded in slowing its nuclear and ballistic missile program.
"Please be assured that none of the sanctions has affected our nuclear activities," Soltanieh said in what he described as a message to the EU and diplomats in New York, home of the UN Security Council.
Instead, "you are harming Iranian passengers," Soltanieh alleged.
Soltanieh implied that the Stuxnet computer virus that affected some centrifuges at its main enrichment facility in the central city of Natanz had little effect on its nuclear work. Scientists immediately worked on antivirus software to protect against the malware, which Tehran blames on the United States and Israel, he said.
"No matter what, the Iranian people are more determined to continue," Soltanieh said.
He commented during a discussion of Iran's nuclear capabilities at Vienna's Diplomatic Academy just days after the IAEA said in a restricted report that it has received new information alleging that Tehran my be working on a nuclear weapons program.
In other remarks Friday, Soltanieh insisted Iran doesn't want nuclear weapons.
"Are we hiding anything? No!" he said.
If that's the case, then Iran should fully co-operate with international community, said Germany's envoy to the IAEA, Ruediger Luedeking, who also participated in the discussion.
"Iran is not ready to address squarely the nuclear issue and that is something that needs to be addressed," he said.
