WASHINGTON: The US has cautioned once again that business deals with Iran could result “in the potential risk of sanctions”.
“We advise anyone considering business deals with Iran to be aware of the potential risk of sanctions,” the US State Department’s principal deputy spokesperson said on Tuesday adding that “ultimately the government of Pakistan can speak to their own foreign policy pursuits.”
Responding to a question by The News, the department boasted of US trade and investment ties with Pakistan saying that the US was Pakistan’s biggest export market and one of its largest investors.
“We have also been a leading investor in Pakistan for the past 20 years,” a department spokesperson highlighted. “Pakistan’s economic success is in both of our interest and we look forward to continuing our partnership.”
During the daily press briefing, the principal deputy spokesperson, Vedant Patel, also responded to a question about imposing sanctions on suppliers to Pakistan’s Ballistic Missile Program.
“The sanctions were made because these were entities that were proliferators of weapons of mass destruction and the means of their delivery,” he said explaining that those were entities based in the PRC and Belarus and that “we have witnessed to have supplied equipment and other items to Pakistan’s ballistic missile program”.
He further said that the new sanctions were following the October 23rd designation of other three PRC entities who worked to supply Pakistan’s missile program. “We’re going to continue to disrupt and take actions against proliferation networks and concerning weapons of mass destruction procurement activities wherever they may occur,” he said.
Pakistan and Iran have vowed to turn the common frontier into a “border of prosperity” as the two neighbouring states reiterated the resolve to boost bilateral trade to $10 billion over the next five years and expeditiously finalise a free trade agreement (FTA).
In a 28-point joint statement issued following the Iranian president’s three-day visit to Pakistan, both countries reiterated the importance of cooperation in the energy domain, including trade in electricity, power transmission lines and Iran-Pakistan gas pipeline project.
