Azernews.Az

TEHRAN – First Vice President Mohammad Reza Rahimi on Tuesday said after Western governments decided not to provide fuel for Iranian passenger planes, Iran decided to retaliate and an immediate order was issued banning supply of jet fuel to Western airlines flying to and from Tehran.

"Recently fuel supply for Iranian passenger planes flying to Europe was stopped. Now the question is if they (West) have problems with the Iranian government why do they deprive the people of their rights. Iran decided immediately to strike back and banned supply of fuel to Western passenger planes landing in Iran," he said, the Persian-language newspaper ‘Iran’ reported.

Addressing a ceremony to commemorate services of the health sector, Rahimi said economic sanctions imposed on Iran over the past several years had not produced the results desired by the West.

"The nation does not fear sanctions and can easily overcome its problems. The only thing is that those who have imposed these sanctions are being disgraced. We will respond in kind to Europe’s refusal to provide jet fuel to Iranian passenger planes," IRNA quoted him as saying.

Rahimi was of the opinion that the country had not suffered from the mounting pressures and sanctions.

"In fact under sanctions the country made moved forward in various sectors, including producing three anti-cancer medicines, producing 95 percent of the medicinal needs with the help of domestic capacities, performing complex surgeries and acquiring advanced technology," he said.

Enemies sought to sanction and punish Iranians but in essence they imposed sanctions against themselves, he added.

"During the sanctions our non-oil exports rose by a significant amount and this growth will continue this year. …. Implementing the Subsidy Reform Law under sanction conditions is another indication of stability of the country and the failure of the sanctions imposed by the enemies."

Last week President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad warned countries that refrain from supplying fuel to Iranian planes of the dire consequences of their action, stressing that Iran will take action against such moves, Fars News Agency reported. "Countries that resort to such moves would suffer," he said at a press conference in Tehran.

He dismissed the embargos as ineffectivness and said "Some governments had assumed that Iranians would be paralyzed if they impose sanctions…they even announced they would impose sanctions against Iran in a way that paralyzes the ruling system in 2010."

"But the enemies saw that major projects of economic reform which demand political and economic stability were implemented in 2010, and instead of the planned 100,000 jobs two million new jobs were created," Ahmadinejad stated.