Iranian ambassador to Madrid Morteza Saffari says US-engineered western sanctions against Iran have hurt Spain’s economy more than Iran.

Spain regards itself as a victim of sanctions adopted by its allies on Iran and accordingly Spanish companies try to find a way to expand relations with Iran, he told IRNA on Wednesday.
 

At the beginning of 2012, the US and the European Union imposed illegal sanctions on Iran’s oil and financial sectors in a bid to prevent other countries from purchasing Iranian oil and conducting transactions with the Central Bank of Iran.

Economic figures show that Iran has not been the only target of these sanctions and some of the European countries not only had to look for a replacement for supplying their oil needs, they also lost a great part of their market.

Safari said Spanish companies which did business in Iran have repeatedly criticized their government for bowing to the sanctions.

He said that after the western unilateral sanctions, Iran has found suitable alternatives for replacing western companies and buys goods from other countries but economic crisis in the European countries has left their companies frustrated with such political decisions.

Spain as a member of European Union is committed to implementation of sanctions on Iran, while the companies are looking for a way out of sanctions, he added.