'German involvement in sanctions not hurting Iran'

By JERUSALEM POST STAFF
Germany's reduction in trade with Iran as part of Western sanctions is not hurting the country as competitors from Asia step in to fill the gaps, an Iranian deputy foreign minister said Friday. Mehdi Safari told reporters in Berlin that Iran's trade with Asia and Pacific nations had more than doubled in the past three years to reach about $90 billion in 2007. That number is expected to grow to more than $100b. this year, he said. At the same time, trade with Germany - for decades one of Iran's most important trading partners - and with other European nations has shrunk, Safari said. "Who is losing, you have to ask yourself," Safari said. "We are doing our job."