was proof of the failure of sanctions.
However, ISNA neglected to report that neither the UN sanctions nor the US sanctions target auto production in any way, so the presence of foreign automakers in Iran says nothing at all about sanctions.
The ISNA article is one of many of the same type that point to foreign operations in Iran that do not come under sanctions but then cite that foreign activity as proof that sanctions are harmless. The regime has put a propaganda campaign into high gear to convince Iranians that sanctions will have no impact. That suggests government polling shows the public is fearful of sanctions and likely to blame the government if sanctions do harm.
It is common in the West for opponents of sanctions to argue that they will only alienate Iranians and lead them to rally around the government.
But many opposition figures have assailed President Ahmadi-nejad for his virulent attacks on the West and said that he is actually adding to the sanctions problem by unnecessarily offending Westerners.
In all likelihood, some Iranians blame the government and some blame Washington for the sanctions. What proportion feels which way is unknown, but the major propaganda campaign unleashed to convince the public that sanctions are ineffective would suggest the government itself feels too many people are prepared to blame the Ahmadi-nejad Administration.
What was perhaps oddest about the ISNA article on carmakers was that two of the 16 foreign auto firms it listed have just pulled out of Iran, showing the psychological impact that sanctions have on many firms, especially those that do major business in the United States and fear future sanctions or, worse, a public boycott of their products because they do business with Iran.
Among the 16 auto firms listed by ISNA were Toyota of Japan and Kia of South Korea, both of which have recently severed their business ties with Iran.
The 14 foreign firms that ISNA said still have operations in Iran are: Peugeot, Renault, Nissan, Volkswagen, Hyundai, Citroen, Suzuki, Mazda, Isuzu, MAN, Scania, Volvo, Lifan and Camas.
Only the first two—French carmakers Peugeot and Renault—have major operations in Iran, however. They produce almost 90 percent of the foreign vehicles made in Iran. ISNA said Peugeot sold 190,000 cars in the first five months of the current Iranian year in association with Iran Khodro while Renault produced 160,000 cars in that same time period with Iran Khodro and Pars Khodro.
Distant third in the statistics, according to ISNA, was Japan’s Mazda with 12,000 vehicles and fourth was Japan’s Isuzu with 5,000.
