(Reuters) Luke Baker - Sanctions imposed on Iran over the past four years are having a direct impact on its nuclear program and causing widespread bank liquidity problems, according to the National Council of Resistance of Iran, a Paris-based Iranian opposition group. NCRI said that at Natanz, Iran's main enrichment facility, efforts to increase the number of centrifuges have been set back by a lack of high-strength steel once imported from Britain. Its report cited an assessment made by senior directors at Iran's oil ministry in March on the impact sanctions were having on banking. "The biggest issue we face is liquidity....Currently, even many of the smaller and low-ranking banks are refusing to engage in deals with us....These even include banks in Turkmenistan, to the extent that in order to make purchases we have to send suitcases full of money."
2010-07-06 08:15:39Full ArticleBACK Visit the Daily Alert Archive