Support our non-partisan non-profit newsroom 💜 Donate now

U.N.’s Iran sanctions may target gas

Stephen Beard Sep 8, 2009
HTML EMBED:
COPY

U.N.’s Iran sanctions may target gas

Stephen Beard Sep 8, 2009
HTML EMBED:
COPY

TEXT OF STORY

Steve Chiotakis: Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad is keeping on with his hard-line nuclear policies. And the United Nations has given him until the end of the month to stop enriching uranium.
Now Iran could face yet another set of sanctions. From London, Stephen Beard reports.


Stephen Beard: The U.N. has already imposed three sets of sanctions on Iran. They’ve all proved ineffective.

But the U.S. and its allies are now planning the most powerful measure so far: they want to target Iran’s gas imports. Because of its own shortage of refineries, Iran has to import around 40 percent of the petroleum it needs.

Hindering those supplies will cause real harm, says Mohammed Shakeel of the Economist Intelligence Unit:

Mohammed Shakeel: These sanctions, if and when they are passed — and they are very likely to be passed now — will hurt Iran dramatically. Iran’s economy is going to suffer.

He says the price of gasoline will shoot up, making transport and electricity much more expensive for millions of Iranians. But he believes the Iranian regime try to unite the population by blaming the price hikes on America.

In London, this is Stephen Beard for Marketplace.

There’s a lot happening in the world.  Through it all, Marketplace is here for you. 

You rely on Marketplace to break down the world’s events and tell you how it affects you in a fact-based, approachable way. We rely on your financial support to keep making that possible. 

Your donation today powers the independent journalism that you rely on. For just $5/month, you can help sustain Marketplace so we can keep reporting on the things that matter to you.