Tehran, Oct. 1 -- Heavily downplaying the EU sanctions, Iran's Deputy Economy Minister Hamid Ghanbari has called them largely symbolic, insisting that they have little actual effect on Tehran's finances, more so than ever now as no Iranian banks held any foreign funds, due to anticipation of their assets being frozen by the West.
Ghanbari said Monday that Tehran had long anticipated such measures and acted accordingly. "Iranian banks deliberately avoided leaving deposits in foreign accounts, knowing they would be vulnerable to freezing," he told state media, reports Iran International.
"What has now been listed were already inactive accounts. There are no major assets abroad to be seized."The EU announced the partial reinstatement of sanc...