TEHRAN, Nov. 9 (UPI) -- Iran has called Western threats of international sanctions over its controversial nuclear program as an ineffective "psychological war."
Secretary-General of Iran's Higher National Security Council Ali Larijani said the endorsement of a European draft resolution by the U.N. Security Council to impose sanctions on Tehran "will have no effect whatsoever on our country, but is part of a psychological war."
"The ban has been effectively imposed on Iran for a long time, especially in the field of nuclear technology and military assistance," Larijani was quoted Thursday as saying by Iranian news agency IRNA.
He said the Western argument about opposing Iran's nuclear program under the pretext that it could possess nuclear arms is "illogical."
"By resorting to such argument, Western countries want to punish the Islamic Republic of Iran before its commits any breach or violation. ... Such pretext is not acceptable in any legal system in the world," Larijani said.
"Western fears, especially America's, regarding Iran's nuclear activities have no legal base at all," he said, stressing that Iran's fears and concerns are never taken into consideration.
"Iran's concern is that the Iranian people would be deprived of the benefits of nuclear technology, because two years after voluntary suspension of nuclear enrichment, the West offered Iran incentives in order to give up the quest for such technology," Larijani added.
He charged that the West's "way of dealing with the issue is irrational and unreasonable."
