Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman: Sanctions Against Iran Date Back to the 1950s
WANA (Nov 12) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman, Esmail Baqaei, has said that Western sanctions against Iran have a history spanning more than seven decades, beginning with the nationalization of the oil industry in the early 1950s. He described these measures as tools of pressure and domination rather than instruments for changing state behavior.
“The sanctions imposed after the nationalization of Iran’s oil were not against Prime Minister Mossadegh — they were against the Iranian people,” Baqaei said during an online interview. He noted that this policy of economic coercion continued during the Iran-Iraq war and persists today, reflecting what he called “a strategy of punishing the Iranian nation.”
Baqaei argued that sanctions have become “a tool for the Global North to pressure the Global South,” with developed countries using their economic dominance — particularly the U.S. dollar — to control others. “So-called targeted or humanitarian sanctions are a lie,” he said. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, we couldn’t even transfer money to buy vaccines.”
He called the claim that sanctions only target governments “a major falsehood,” adding: “In reality, ordinary people are the main victims. We saw this clearly when essential medicines for butterfly patients were blocked.”
Citing UN reports, Baqaei reminded that a Special Rapporteur has documented the human rights violations caused by unilateral coercive measures, including those imposed on Iran.
From a legal standpoint, he said, such sanctions violate international principles prohibiting coercion and the use of force. “Western countries interpret these norms selectively to justify their actions, while sanctions themselves are a form of force,” he said.
Baqaei also highlighted that a 2009 UN General Assembly resolution stipulates that Security Council sanctions must have legitimate objectives. “The current actions against Iran are neither legitimate nor lawful; they aim to undermine national sovereignty,” he added.
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Commenting on the nuclear negotiations, Baqaei rejected claims that Iran lacked seriousness. “There has never been any doubt about Iran’s commitment,” he said. “Our foreign minister stated repeatedly that any day we could lift sanctions on our people would be a victory. These accusations of Iranian insincerity are mere Western pretexts fueled by Israeli media narratives.”
He concluded: “From the oil nationalization era to the present day, economic pressure on Iran has never ceased. Yet history shows that sanctions have not changed Iran’s behavior — they have only strengthened the nation’s resolve to resist domination.”
