TEHRAN – The managing director of the World Bank has said he opposes sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran, the governor of the Iranian bank said on Monday.

 

Mahmoud Bahmani had visited the IMF and the World Bank Annual Spring Meetings in Washington last month.

 

Bahmani said during the meetings he explained that Iran had no problems in terms of reserves and imports and “the president of the World Bank (Robert Zoellick) acknowledged that sanctions against the Central Bank of Iran (CBI) were meaningless.”

 

He added, “The meetings that we had with the bank chiefs of the different countries announced their readiness to have commercial ties with us.” 

 

On May 1 the International Monetary Fund rebuffed U.S. calls to cut its relations with the CBI in order to comply with the U.S.-led economic sanctions against Tehran over its nuclear program.

 

The IMF insisted that its account with the CBI is in line with Iran’s membership with the IMF and does not contravene Western sanctions.

 

Bahmani said the IMF chief for the Middle East section described Iran’s complaints against sanctions “logical” and vowed to take steps to resolve the problems. 

 

The Iranian economy is set to grow favorably in 2012 despite the effects of new sanctions, says the World Bank's latest Global Economic Prospects (GEP) 2012.

 

Despite the introduction of international sanctions and ripple effects from the global financial crisis, rising oil prices and a good crop helped to support Iran’s economy, the Washington-based financial body said.