Iranian Trade with the West Soars Despite Sanctions

Trade between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council has soared despite a newly imposed round of international economic sanctions on Iran, the semi-official Iranian news broadcaster Press TV has claimed. A Press TV report claimed that while Iranian imports from the U.S. and the U.K. have suffered under the new sanctions regime, exports to both countries rose by 76 percent and 61 percent, respectively, over the last four months. Trade with China, by many account’s Iran’s most important trading partner, saw a 50 percent rise in exports and a 40 percent rise in imports, the news agency found. On June 9 the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council – the United States, United Kingdom, Russia, France and China – all voted to impose a fourth round of sanctions on Iran over its nuclear program. Together with Germany the five countries are often referred to as the P5+1 countries, which try to negotiate with Iran as a united block.
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