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Iran dismisses Western sanctions as "ineffective", threatens to use Strait of Hormuz as lever

25 June 2012 20:08 (UTC +04:00)

Baku-APA. Commander of Iranian Army’s Ground Forces Brigadier General Ahmad-Reza Pourdastan have said that Western sanctions have been ineffective on the Islamic republic and threatened that Iran will use its all levers, particularly, the Strait of Hormuz, if its nation is endangered, APA reports quoting Xinhua.

Iran has proved that "unilateral sanctions and limitations imposed by the global arrogance against Iran did not prevent the Islamic Republic of Iran from achieving its objectives and making progress," the army commander was quoted as saying by the official IRNA news agency.

Despite the sanctions and limitations imposed by the West, Iran managed to make considerable progress and achievements in different fields, including the defense section, said Pourdastan.

"We will take necessary measures for defending the country while avoiding to make any concessions to any foreign country," he added.

The commander pointed out that the Iranian Army and the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) plan to stage a number of joint military drills in the current Iranian calendar year (starting from March 20, 2012), according to the Press TV.

Iran will use its all levers, particularly, the Strait of Hormuz, if its nation is endangered, the semi-official ISNA news agency quoted Pourdastan as saying on Monday.

According to the report, Pourdastan referred to the imposition of potential sanctions, including oil sanctions against Iran by Western countries, saying that new sanctions would not affect the country.

He stressed that all levers, including the Strait of Hormuz, would be used to defend the country, said the report.

Iranian military and political leaders have threatened to close the Strait of Hormuz if increased Western sanctions over Tehran’s controversial nuclear activities halt Iran’s exports and hurts the interests of the Islamic republic.

Tehran denied the U.S. and European allegations that the Islamic republic is developing nuclear weapons, insisting on its previous claims that its nuclear program is for "peaceful" purposes.

Meanwhile, criticizing Western pressures on the Islamic republic, Iran’s former President Akbar Hashemi-Rafsanjani said Monday that the Islamic republic is not pursuing atomic weapon program, ISNA reported.

Hashemi-Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with the new Spanish ambassador to Tehran.

"The European countries are making a grave mistake by raising suspicions about the (nuclear activities of) Islamic republic in the international arena," he was quoted as saying.

"The Islamic republic is never after building nuclear weapons," he stressed, adding that every country, including the Islamic republic, has the right to take advantage of the benefits of the peaceful nuclear energy.

Last week, Hashemi-Rafsanjani said that Western countries had not been cooperative and not sincere in the nuclear talks with Iran.

The West had resorted to coercion and was seeking proper time to implement their objectives, he said.

The latest round of talks between Iran and the P5+1 (United States, Britain, China, France, Russia plus Germany) ended without an agreement in Moscow last Tuesday, but all parties agreed to meet again in Istanbul in July at the expert level.

In the mean time on Monday, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu repeated his call for the international community to impose "tighter sanctions and greater demands" on Iran.

Netanyahu made the call at a joint press conference with visiting Russian President Vladimir Putin, who is in Israel for a one-day visit, the first since he became president again in May.

Both Israel and Russia agree that " nuclear weapons in Iranian hands pose a danger to Israel and the entire world," Netanyahu told reporters after meeting with Putin in Jerusalem.

Netanyahu, reiterated his oft-stated demand that Iran halt its uranium enrichment program, transfer all enriched uranium out of the country, and disassemble its underground nuclear facilities.

"I believe that we should be doing two things now: boosting the sanctions and also boosting the demands," Netanyahu said, referring to a series of commerce, banking and oil restrictions against the Iranian government.