Iranians fear tightening of the screw

The Financial Times

When an Iranian businessman was denied a licence for his machinery company in Dubai, he responded by moving to Turkey.

But the latest sanctions imposed by the US Congress have pursued him to this supposed haven. The new legislation excludes any bank with commercial ties to Iran from the US market.

Consequently, it is increasingly difficult for the businessman, named Mohammad, to find Turkish banks willing to deal with his business. “I am resorting to every dirty work to survive,” he says.

Governments in the west say sanctions imposed on Tehran because of its nuclear ambitions are not intended to harm ordinary people. But many Iranians say they suffering far more from the effects of these measures than their government. They blame their leaders for a confrontational foreign policy and western governments for imposing punitive measures.

Mohammad says the United Arab Emirates authorities refuse to renew the licence for his office, which he opened in Dubai four years ago to circumvent sanctions. In his new base in Turkey, he must now take bigger risks by using informal channels to transfer money.

Many businessmen complain that they must shift from one country to another to avoid sanctions. “We are treated like slaves by our own and western governments,” says Reza, another businessman. “How long can we survive while we keep changing banks and routes to import goods?”

Iran’s government, which says sanctions are ineffective, has tried to shield ordinary people, using costly subsidies and contingency planning. Petrol stations still have supplies but only because authorities have disrupted the petrochemical industry by using its facilities to produce petroleum. The shops are still full of food but some imported fruits such as pineapples have vanished.

Although foodstuffs are not covered by sanctions, banking restrictions make it hard for Iranian companies to pay for imports.

“Thank God we can still find everything in the market but tightening of sanctions worries me that we might have the same fate of Iraqis, whose children didn’t have milk,” says Hassan, father of a young girl.

The domestic media reports a shortage of medicine for patients with kidney transplants because of delays in paying for imported drugs.

Meanwhile, the lives of Iranian students are being disrupted. One graduate in urban planning finds he cannot transfer a fee of €300 ($400) to join a workshop in India. Students seeking international certificates to display their grasp of English are uncertain whether they will be able to take their examinations. Parisa, an 18-year-old who wants to study engineering in Britain, hopes to sit an exam in December. “But I’m very nervous that it might get cancelled because of sanctions, which are indeed on us – not the government.”

Her father, Akbar, is also worried. He asks: “How can I send her money if she goes to London and the channels for transfers get blocked?”

Iranians are already suffering from economic stagnation, with unemployment at 14.6 per cent. Among university graduates, the figure is at least 25 per cent.

In the past, the effect of sanctions was confined mainly to civil aviation, which was denied access to US-made spare parts. As a result, Iran’s airliners cannot be properly maintained.

“Every time I fly, I don’t know if I’ll land,” says Manouchehr, an engineer. “Putting sanctions on civilian aircraft is criminal. I don’t like our government but I don’t understand how the US benefits from sanctions on people’s lives?”