Analysts said Asian banks and China's hunger for oil could buffer Iran from new U.S. sanctions, The Washington Post reported Monday.

China is expected to replace Germany as Iran's biggest trading partner this year and as a permanent member of the U.N. Security Council, China can veto U.N. resolutions against Iran, further protecting it, the Post reported.

"Given particularly the price and demand for oil, Iran clearly has leverage with countries that need Iran's oil," said Shaul Bakhash, a George Mason University historian and author of "The Reign of the Ayatollahs."

Iran steadily was shifting its trade and banking from Western countries to Asian countries even before U.S. sanctions were announced taken last week against firms linked to Iran's Revolutionary Guard Corps, the Post reported.

While Iran is likely to weather the long-term impact, the U.S. sanctions could raise the costs of Iran's international banking transactions and complicate oil deals with international firms, the newspaper account said.  // Copyright 2007 by United Press International




Publication date: 29 October 2007   

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