Rafsanjani Stresses Start of New Era in Iran’s Foreign Policy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – A new era has started in Iran’s foreign policy, Chairman of Iran’s Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani stated, adding that Iran's policy will be based on mutual respect and trust.
The Iranian top cleric said in a Sunday meeting with former European Union Foreign Policy Chief Javier Solana, who earlier attended the new Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s swearing-in ceremony, that a new era has started in Iran’s foreign policy which is made on the basis of mutual respect and trust.
Rafsanjani also slammed double-standard approaches adopted by US administration and the House of Representatives as “dubious", adding that no negotiations could yield results with threats and sanctions.
The Iranian official’s remarks came a few days after the US House of Representatives on Wednesday approved a bill to impose tougher sanctions against Iran’s oil exports and other economic sectors.
The bill also blacklists any business in Iran’s mining and construction sectors and commits the United States to the goal of ending all Iranian oil sales worldwide by 2015.
The US has imposed several rounds of illegal sanctions on Iran, which Washington claims to be aimed at pressuring Tehran to abandon its nuclear energy program.
The US, Israel and their allies have repeatedly accused Iran of potentially pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.
Tehran has categorically rejected the accusation, arguing that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
