TEHRAN, June 8: Iran will proceed with its planned eurobond issue for 500 million euros despite the withdrawal of its sovereign rating by a leading US-based investors service, the central bank chief said on Saturday.

The emission of the 500 million euro ($472 million) eurobond on the international market will proceed according to plans, Mohsen Nourbakhsh said, quoted by the official daily Iran.

He added that the withdrawal of the rating by Moody’s Investors Service on June 3 resulted from “US political pressure” and would not affect Iran’s economy.

The fact that Moody’s withdrew its rating is for us a positive sign. If Iran had a bad side, if its image was negative, then the Americans would have never taken this political decision, he said.

On Monday, Moody’s announced the withdrawal of its rating, attributing the move to United States government concerns that it could be “inconsistent” with American sanctions on the Islamic republic.

These concerns have been raised despite the fact that Moody’s has no commercial relationship with Iran and has received no compensation for the ratings, the US agency said.

Moody’s has responded to the US government’s concerns, and, if those concerns can be satisfied, would anticipate issuing updated ratings, it said.

Washington maintains a trade embargo on Islamic republic of Iran and a US State Department report last month branded the country the biggest state sponsor of terrorism.

The bond will be lead managed by Germany’s Commerzbank and the France’s BNP Paribas and will be issued either on a three-year or five-year basis.

It is the first to be issued by Iran since the 1979 Islamic revolution.

In 1999, for the first time since the revolution, Moody’s gave Iran a B2 speculative investment grade, fifteenth on the agency’s 21-point scale.

In 2000, Moody’s changed Iran’s B2 rating outlook from “stable” to “positive,” and last November began reviewing it for a possible upgrade ahead of the planned eurobond issue.—AFP