Islam Times - Sanction policy on Iran risky: US daily

Islam Times - A widely-circulated American daily has described the US and European strategy of imposing sanctions on Iran as 'risky,' saying that the policy can have adverse impacts on the Western countries.

The United States and the European Union have recently slapped unilateral sanctions against Iran's oil and banking sectors based on the allegation that Tehran's nuclear program may consist of a covert military aspect.

An article published in the Los Angeles Times on Sunday pointed to the fact that some current and former Western officials have expressed doubts that harsher sanctions would only serve to stir anger against the West by increasing pressure on the people in Iran.

“There is wide and growing concern that the sanctions will punish the most vulnerable,” the article said.

This is while US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton earlier argued that the administration wants to target the Iranian government "without contributing to the suffering of the ordinary people."

Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, however, said on January 26 that the recent sanctions were aimed at mounting pressure on the Iranian nation.

The United States and its allies have been accusing Iran of pursuing a military nuclear program, and have used the allegation to push for four rounds of UN Security Council sanctions on the Islamic Republic and to take more unilateral measures against the country.

Iran has categorically refuted the Western allegation, saying that as a signatory to the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it has the right to acquire and develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.