The international sanctions on Iran over its nuclear programme are having a “paralysing” impact on the country’s economy, says a cabinet minister.

According to a report by the Ilna news agency, Iran’s Minister of Industry, Mine and Trade Mehdi Ghazanfari conceded that the international sanctions were indeed “paralysing” the economy. He said that the sanctions imposed after December 2006 were “very smart and affect the entire economy,” because they included Iran’s oil exports as well as its central bank, and thus placed a significant strain on financial resources.

“The sanctions are aimed at putting the people under pressure, not at the nuclear programme or the human rights situation,” Ghazanfari continued. The sanctions on Iran’s shipping companies, he added, had worsened the economic situation even further.

The minister said that even though the sanctions did not include the import of food medicine, the sanctions on Iran’s banking had made the purchase of medical equipment and supplies even more difficult.

The plunge in the value of the nation’s currency, a by-product of the sanctions, has resulted in a steep rise in the price of medicine. According to the Associated Press, an imported wheelchair now costs ten times more than last fall, while a blood-sugar test kit has more than doubled to 540,000 Rials, or about $18.

Critics of the crushing sanctions say they ultimately harm ordinary Iranians, in particular the country’s most vulnerable.

Source: GVF