Iran says it is undeterred by EU sanctions plan

Iran said on Tuesday it was undeterred by European Union plans for tighter sanctions over its disputed nuclear activities, and threatened to punish countries that backed sanctions by curbing exports of minerals.

EU members have agreed to push ahead at a summit on Thursday with plans to move beyond sanctions imposed by the United Nations Security Council last week, with extra measures including steps to curb investment in Iran's energy sector.

EU foreign ministers signed off on a text describing the measures on Monday in preparation for Thursday's summit.

The EU sanctions will target "key sectors of (Iran's) gas and oil industry with prohibition of new investment, technical assistance and transfers of technologies, equipment and services, in particular related to refining, liquefaction and
Liquefied Natural Gas," said the text, obtained by Reuters.

The EU sanctions appear to go further than many expected. Some EU members had been seen as reluctant to impose sanctions beyond those passed by the United Nations, while others were thought to want to shield Iran's oil and gas industry.

By targeting oil and gas, Europe could push Iran toward closer cooperation with China and Russia, both of which backed the UN sanctions but only after helping to ensure that they did not target Iran's energy sector.

Western efforts to isolate Tehran have already persuaded some companies to limit involvement in Iran. Total of France, LUKOIL of Russia, Petronas of Malaysia and Royal Dutch Shell are among companies that have limited, or are reported to have discussed limiting, sales of gasoline to Iran in recent months.

President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad criticized on Tuesday the "unstable behavior" of foreign companies over investment in Iran's energy sector.

"Big powers want to impose their will on other nations ... we do not need financial support of these countries," Ahmadinejad said, according to state television.

Iran has remained defiant over sanctions and refused to curb its nuclear program, which it says is for peaceful purposes.

"The carrot and stick policy of the EU is wrong and illogical because such measures would not resolve the issue (Iran's nuclear row with the West)," Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told a weekly news conference.

"Sanctions will not stop Iran's nuclear work. Sanctions will make us more decisive to become self-sufficient," he said.

Brazil and Turkey voted against the UN sanctions after trying to broker a deal for Iran to swap nuclear fuel abroad. Brazil's foreign minister told a UN-sponsored disarmament conference in Geneva the West had missed a chance to negotiate.

"It is difficult to understand why it has not been at least given a chance to bear fruit. Its value as a confidence building measure, as a platform for further talks, was not put to (the) test," foreign minister Celso Amorim said.

Mineral export curbs

Iran will respond to sanctions by curbing exports of minerals to countries that backed the UN measure, said Mohammad Masoud Samienejad, deputy industry and mines minister.

"Soon, the exports of mineral products to those countries that voted in favor of the sanctions against Iran will be limited," he said in comments carried by the daily Arman.

Iran produces chromite, lead, zinc, copper, coal, gold, tin and iron, though those industries are dwarfed by oil and gas.

Mineral exports totaled 3.7 billion euros in the nine months from March 21, 2009, according to state broadcaster IRIB. Its biggest buyers are Iraq, China, the UAE, India and Afghanistan. Tehran is unlikely to take any steps which would punish Beijing.

The Islamic state has increasingly turned to Asian firms that are less susceptible to Western political pressure. But they often lack technology to implement oil and gas projects.

The EU measures appear to represent a reversal for some countries. Sweden, Cyprus and Spain were thought to oppose steps beyond the U.N. sanctions, and Germany was said to have concerns about targeting oil and gas, where it has big investments.

A Spanish foreign ministry spokesman said: "We are not opposed to any EU measures that go beyond the U.N. sanctions."

European Union foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said last Wednesday she was ready to meet Iran's chief nuclear negotiator to discuss the country's nuclear work. Mehmanparast said Iran was reviewing Ashton's request for talks.

	Technicians measuring parts of Iran's Bushehr nuclear power plant in this undated photo.
	Photo by: AP