Iran President Ahmadinejad condemns US banking sanctions

Iranian President
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
has hit back at the US,
after Washington
introduced new
sanctions against Iran's
central bank.
Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
called the central bank
Iran's backbone in dealing
with enemies
Mr Ahmadinejad said the
bank was strong enough to
defeat "enemy plans".
The sanctions - which cut
off from the US financial
system foreign firms that
do business with the
central bank - are part of a
defence bill signed by
President Barack Obama on
Saturday.
They will take hold after a
warning period of up to six
months.
According to a statement
quoted by the state-
run Irna news agency
,
Mr Ahmadinejad said the
central bank was "the
backbone" of the country in
facing outside pressure
should have the strength
and confidence "to thwart
enemy plans".
The new US sanctions come
at a times of heightened
tension over the Iranian
nuclear programme.
Western powers say
Tehran is seeking to
acquire a nuclear weapons
capability, but Iran insists
the programme is purely for
energy and medical
purposes.
There have been concerns
that the sanctions against
the Iranian central bank
could force up the price of
oil.
The bill, which was passed
by wide majorities in both
houses of Congress, gives
the president the power to
grant a six-month grace
period to give oil markets
time to factor them in.