Mahathir: Malaysia Lost ‘a Big Market’ in Iran

Date: 14 December 2019 - 21:57

News ID: ۷۳۹۱۳

DOHA (Dispatches) -- The American sanctions imposed on Iran violate the United Nations charter and international law, Malaysian Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad told a conference in Qatar on Saturday.
‘’Malaysia does not support the reimposition of the unilateral sanctions by the U.S. against Iran,’’ he told the Doha Forum, also attended by Qatar Emir Tamim bin Hamad Al-Thani.
Malaysia and other countries have lost a ‘’a big market’’ because of the sanctions on Iran, he said.
‘’Such sanctions clearly violate the United Nations charter and international law; sanctions can only be applied by the United Nations in accordance with the charter,’’ he added.
President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from an international nuclear deal with Iran last year and unleashed a "maximum pressure” campaign against Iran.
The "toughest ever” sanctions target Iranians with the express aim of force Tehran into submitting to American demands.
On Wednesday, the Trump administration announced that it was targeting Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) or E-Sail, and the country’s major airline, Mahan Air.
The U.S. Treasury Department stressed that Washington’s new sanctions will lead to the restriction of trade related to humanitarian goods. The announcement flew in the face of Washington’s earlier claims that its sanctions did not affect Iran’s access to humanitarian goods.
"U.S. persons will be prohibited from engaging in transactions involving Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Lines (IRISL) or E-Sail, including transactions for the sale of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices,” the Treasury’s guidelines on Iran sanctions read.
"In addition, non-U.S. persons that knowingly engage in certain transactions with IRISL or E-Sail, even for the sale to Iran of agricultural commodities, food, medicine, or medical devices, risk exposure to sanctions under additional authorities,” it added.
Speaking on Thursday, U.S. Special Representative for Iran Brian Hook boasted that American sanctions targeting Iran’s oil sector have led to more than $50 billion in revenue losses, have hindered Iran’s refined-oil products and have undermined foreign investment.
"Both upstream and downstream investments in Iran’s oil and gas sector have stopped,” Hook said. "Foreign investors have almost entirely pulled out of Iran due to the risks and billions in investment has been lost,” he added.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry called in the South Korean ambassador last month to demand payment of 7 trillion won ($6 billion) for oil it sold to the Asian country, Chosun Ilbo reported, citing officials it didn’t identify.
Iran expressed "strong regret” over Seoul’s failure to complete the payment, which has been deposited at two South Korean banks without being transferred to Iran’s central bank for years due to U.S. sanctions against the Middle Eastern country, the newspaper said. It added that other Iranian authorities including the central bank also complained.
South Korea sent a delegation to the Middle East late last month and explained that the country will cooperate with the U.S. to successfully complete transfer of the payment, it added.