Originally posted by the Voice of America. Voice of America content is produced by the Voice of America, a United States federal government-sponsored entity, and is in the public domain. Iran Denies Jet Fuel Crisis, Urges Citizens to Conserve Energy Edward Yeranian | Cairo 06 July 2010 Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (file photo) Photo: AFP Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei (file photo) Iran's Supreme Leader urged his countrymen on Tuesday to reduce consumption of energy as well as consumer goods from abroad, amid scattered signs that new U.N. sanctions might be having an effect.  Iranian government television delivered a message from Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, telling them to conserve energy and electricity as well as to cut back on consumption of imported consumer goods. Meanwhile, Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast told journalists that reports saying several Arab and Western countries have refused to refuel Iranian jetliners are not true. Mehmanparast said reports that countries such as the United States and Britain as well as aviation companies associated with the United Arab Emirates are not refueling Iranian planes are inaccurate and that Iranian passengers have been able to complete their travels. He called the stories part of a "psychological war" against Iran. Britain's Financial Times newspaper reports that oil giant BP has stopped refueling Iranian jets as part of a U.S.-led drive to encourage private companies to suspend commercial dealings with Tehran. New United Nations economic sanctions were imposed on Iran recently for its nuclear program. Iran's trade minister told government television on Tuesday that Tehran's non-oil exports had "increased during the last fiscal year." He did not mention recent reports that the country's oil exports had dropped by nearly 25 percent. Analyst Ali Nourizadeh of the London-based Center for Arab and Iranian Studies says that Ayatollah Khamenei's call for Iranians to cut back on energy consumption was meant to encourage people to prepare for the effects of the U.N. sanctions. "There is an expression in Iranian," Nourizadeh said. "They say, 'When you are hearing the hiss, the wind is coming.' And when you listen to Ayatollah Khamenei, he's giving a warning to the people. He's telling them, 'Be prepared, the worst is coming.' I'm sure it has everything to do with the sanctions. The ministry of oil has given people ration coupons for the summer time, especially for drivers of taxis and buses. Now we see that they are reconsidering all those ration cards and are telling them that they should be prepared for less fuel." But Iran analyst Gary Sick of Columbia University in New York says the Tehran government has been trying to cut back on subsidies on various items and that the new sanctions are a good excuse to encourage people to cut back on consumption, while blaming the international community. "My guess is that they're taking advantage of this to promote actions on the part of the Iranian public that they would like to see and blaming it, since these are unpopular things, on the West, rather than the fact that the sanctions are starting to bite," Nourizadeh said. Iranian government television is showing motorists filling up their tanks and insisting that fuel supplies are normal.  .