Iran's Economy Minister, Shamseddin Hosseini, in a speech to a plenary session of the World Bank and International Monetary Fund, said that development and humanitarian assistance was not part of the UN sanctions that were imposed by the major powers on Iran to curb its nuclear development, Reuters reports.
He said the refusal since 2005 by the global lender to consider a new lending strategy for Iran, known as the Country Assistance Strategy (CAS), went against the Bank's agreement clauses, adding that the World Bank's actions were depriving a member country of developmental resources.
US lawmakers have pressured the World Bank, led by US citizen Robert Zoellick, not to lend to Iran and have threatened to withhold US funding to the poverty-fighting institution if it approves new lending.
According to the World Bank's website, the global lender has not approved new lending to Iran since 2005. It said that Security Council resolution 1737 (passed in March 2007) on Iran, while calling on member states and global organizations to refrain from making new financing available to Iran, exempts humanitarian and development activities conducted by international financial institutions.
Citing specific clauses in the Bank's articles of agreement, Hosseini said the World Bank was "forbidden to have any kind of interference in the political affairs of member countries nor be influenced by the political inclinations of member-states".
He said even though the Bank had halted disbursement of loans already approved to Iran, it continued to charge interest and other fees.
Iran blasts World Bank for refusing loans
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