Iran 'annoyed' by latest sanctions round

IRAN has said it will review relations with the UN nuclear watchdog a day after the UN Security Council approved a fourth round of sanctions against Tehran over its disputed nuclear programme.
By The Newsroom
Published 10th Jun 2010, 23:11 BST
Updated 10th Jun 2010, 23:11 BST

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad dismissed the sanctions as "annoying flies", as useless as "used tissues".

Alaeddin Boroujerdi, the head of the Iranian parliament's powerful National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, described the sanctions as "political, illegal and illogical" and said lawmakers would quickly "begin a revision of Iran's relations" with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).

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He did not say what options were to be discussed but a revision could result in restricting IAEA inspectors' access to Iran's nuclear facilities.

Though the US hailed the sanctions as the toughest Iran has ever faced, they did not amount to the "crippling" penalties US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton vowed to pursue a year ago if US attempts to engage Iran diplomatically failed.

The new sanctions do not affect oil exports, the lifeblood of Iran's economy, because targeting them would have cost the US essential support from veto-wielding Security Council members Russia and China, which have strong economic ties with Tehran.

The Iranian review, slated to begin on Sunday, is unlikely to be anything other than a lengthy diatribe by the Islamic Republic against the sanctions.

Related topics:IranRussiaChina