A US decision to exempt nations from tough new sanctions on Iran showed Washington is in “retreat” in its stance against the Islamic republic, a key lawmaker said in a report Wednesday. The United States said Tuesday it was exempting 11 countries including European Union members and Japan from new punitive measures on Iran while praising them for reducing dependency on oil from the Middle East country. “Due to decisive stances taken by the Islamic republic, such a move (by Washington) is an overt retreat from earlier stances,” Aladin Borujerdi said, quoted by ISNA news agency. Borujerdi, the head of parliament’s foreign policy and national security commission, said the US decision was influenced by concerns about “rising oil prices which harmed the European consumer nations and the tumbling economies of the West.” Under a tough new law aimed at pressing Iran over its nuclear program, the United States plans to penalise foreign financial institutions that deal with Iran’s central bank, which generally handles oil purchases. US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said Washington would exempt financial institutions from 11 nations — Belgium, Britain, the Czech Republic, France, Germany, Greece, Italy, Japan, the Netherlands, Poland and Spain.
Borujerdi reiterated Iranian policy that it would not “retreat from its stances on the nuclear programme,” as it is within the framework of the non-proliferation treaty.
Exemptions show US in ‘retreat’ over Iran: key MP
