Imam Khamenei: Iran will weather sanctions, overcome problems as always

(Ahlul Bayt News Agency) - Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has downplayed Western sanctions against the Islamic Republic, saying the Iranian nation will overcome problems as always.“Today, our enemies magnify sanctions. Sanctions are not an issue of yesterday or today. Sanctions have existed from the very beginning; they intensified the sanctions, which didn’t work; they intensified them again; these won’t work either,” Ayatollah Khamenei said in a speech to tens of thousands of people in the province of North Khorasan on Wednesday.The Leader said that the US and certain European countries seek to link sanctions to Iran’s nuclear energy program, adding that the main reason behind the anti-Iran embargos is not the nuclear issue but the Iranian nation’s resistance against the global hegemony. Ayatollah Khamenei dismissed claims by the US and its allies that they will lift sanctions against Iran if Tehran abandons its nuclear energy program.“They pretend that that the sanctions will be lifted if the Iranian nation gives up nuclear energy. They lie. They make decisions out of grudge and aversion [toward Iran] and impose irrational sanctions.”The Leader, however, stressed that the Iranian nation will emerge victorious in the battle as it has overcome much bigger problems over the past 33 years.The US and the European Union have imposed unilateral sanctions on Iran over unfounded claims that Iran is pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.Iran rejects the allegations, arguing that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency it is entitled to develop and acquire nuclear technology for peaceful purposes. /129