Iranians blame US for sanctions: Poll

The results of a recent opinion poll suggest that the majority of Iranians blame the US for imposing sanctions against the country and still support the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy Program.

A total of 1,000 Iranian adults responded to the poll, which was conducted by the Gallup institute in December 2012, the US daily Washington Post reported Friday.

According to the results of the poll, Iranians hold the US government as the main responsible for imposing sanctions against their country.

Asked whether Iran should continue to develop its nuclear energy capabilities given the sanctions against the country, almost two-thirds of respondents, namely 63 percent, said yes. Only 17 percent said no while 19 percent said they didn’t know or declined to answer.

The United States, Israel and some of their allies have falsely accused Iran of pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Under the unfounded allegation, the US and certain other countries have imposed sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

Iran has vehemently rejected the allegations against its nuclear energy program, arguing that as a committed signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.

In addition, the IAEA has conducted numerous inspections of Iran’s nuclear facilities but has never found any evidence showing that Tehran’s nuclear energy program has been diverted toward military objectives.

AR/SS