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Rafsanjani Slams US Extension of Sanctions Against Iran
Former Iranian President Ali Akbar Rafsanjani Saturday strongly slammed the United States for extension of sanctions against the Islamic republic, saying that the sanctions have helped Iran become more independent.
Rafsanjani, now chairman of Iran's powerful State Expediency Council, an arbiter between the parliament and the Guardians Council, made the remarks here at an international seminar on medical affairs.
The U.S. House of Representatives voted overwhelmingly Thursday for a five-year extension of the 1996 Iran-Libya Sanctions Act, which bans foreign enterprises from investing more than 20 million U.S. dollars in either Iran's or Libya's energy sector.
The U.S. Senate made the same decision late Wednesday
Rafsanjani condemned Washington for extending the sanctions against Iran, noting that what's more serious is coincidence of the extension with the U.S. three-billion-dollar assistance to Israel. Iran and the U.S. severed relations in 1980 after some Muslim students occupied the U.S. embassy in Tehran following the 1979 Islamic Revolution. The U.S. has since imposed economic sanctions against Iran.
In August 1996, Washington began implementing the Iran-Libya Sanctions Act to make earlier sanctions more effective. The Act, however, has been strongly opposed by the European Union countries and oil companies, especially those from France, Italy and the Netherlands
Since the act is due to expire in August, a powerful pro-Israeli lobby is pressing for another full five-year extension of the controversial legislation while the Bush administration is in favor of a two-year extension.
Although the U.S. congress has ratified a five-year extension of the act, the measure must be approved by President George W. Bush before it becomes a law.
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