US naval blockade unlikely to undermine Iran's economy: Envoy

MINSK, May 17. /TASS/. The US naval blockade of Iran is unlikely to undermine its economy as the country shares borders with 15 nations, Tehran’s Ambassador to Belarus Alireza Sanei said in an interview with TASS.

"We share borders with 15 countries, including Russia, Afghanistan, Pakistan, Turkey, Iraq, Azerbaijan, and Armenia. A blockade in the south certainly will not affect our imports and exports," he pointed out.

The envoy admitted that "a war is still a war, and it has consequences: it brings destruction and casualties, as well as various kinds of damage."

"The United States, the world’s greatest military power, attacked us together with Israel; these countries possess nuclear weapons. We are now defending ourselves, guided by the UN Charter," Sanei stressed.

"We don’t deny that certain economic damage has been done," he went on to say. "However, our people will endure economic hardships but won’t ever trade away their freedom and independence and the country’s sovereignty."

The diplomat noted that Iran had been under sanctions for 47 years, which had made the economy and the people stronger. "We need to see if the American people, the European people and people in other countries are prepared for these economic fluctuations and pressure," he said. "Resilience is the problem. We need to figure out who proves to be more resilient: the Americans, the global economy, the global energy sector, or Iran," Sanei concluded.