Western sanctions mere words, no action

Official reports and figures released by Iranian energy officials reveal that the US-driven EU sanctions against Iran's oil and petrochemical sector have never been put into action. Yesterday, Iran's Deputy Oil Minister Abdolhossein Bayat said export of Iranian petrochemical products to the European countries has not decreased despite Western sanctions against Iran's oil and gas industries. "Iran currently has no problem exporting petrochemical products. Export to European countries has not fallen," he said. Bayat, who is also Managing Director of National Petrochemical Company (NPC), said the company had focused efforts on finding new markets for Iranian petrochemical products over the past two years and that new markets had been found. Iran exported 18.2 million tons of petrochemical and polymer products worth some 14.2 billion US dollars to more than 60 countries in the last Iranian calendar year ending March 19, 2012.