Iran says possible sanctions to jeopardize ongoing nuclear talks

Any possible sanctions against Iran will jeopardize ongoing nuclear talks between the Islamic republic and the world powers, Iranian spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said here on Wednesday.

"Any new sanctions means to stop the ongoing talks and this is very obvious," Afkham told reporters in her weekly press briefing.

"In our eyes, using the outdated tool of sanction will not be helpful," she said, adding that some of the U.S. officials should cease to think that the sanctions have forced Iran to the negotiation table.

The Iranians have not quit their economic and development programs in spite of the western sanctions, and Iran's new annual budget has less reliance on oil revenues, she said.

As a counter-measure vis-a-vis the western sanctions against Iran's energy sector and the falling trend of oil prices in the market, Iran has managed to reduce its dependence on oil revenues and only one third of the government's income is expected to come from oil sales in the budget for the next Iranian year, starting on March 21, Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.

Although 33 percent of the government's revenues are expected to be met via oil sales, "we have also predicted how to compensate" the possible deficit due to the oil market weakening, he said.

Iran's economy is heavily reliant on oil exports. Beside the losses from slumping oil prices, Iran's crude exports have fallen 60 percent to 1 million barrels a day due to Western sanctions on its energy and financial sectors.

"The Iranians unanimously urge an end to the cruel sanctions," the Iranian president reiterated. "And we announce that the era of threats and sanction is already over," he added.

The United States and its Western allies suspect that Iran's disputed nuclear program might have weapons-grade dimensions, while the Islamic republic has denied the allegations. Endit