Last week, the Ministry of Finance announced that the oil fund would not buy government bonds from Iran, North Korea or Syria. To buy government bonds in a country is in practice the same as giving the country loan.
– Siv Jensen creates confusion about the political regulations for pension fund, says Støre to Klassekampen.
The chairman of Stortinget’s finance committee believes that the Minister of Finance uses oil fund as a political tool.
– This is a pure political statement. There is also a unmusical utterance when our closest allies are seeking some kind of normalization of relations with this country, says the former foreign affairs and the minister of health Jonas Gahr Støre.
On the other hand, State Secretary Paal Bjørnestad (FRP) explains that there are professional reasons and not political, behind the decision to ban on Iran.
– We have got professional advice from the Foreign Ministry that the sanction regimes of Iran, North Korea and Syria are in a unique position. It is the reason behind the decision, he said.