MP Sees Anti-Iran Sanctions Beneficial for Developing Iranians’ Talents
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Sanctions which have been in place on Iran for most of the period since the 1979 Islamic Revolution have helped the nation’s talents flourish, a prominent Iranian lawmaker noted.
Head of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Alaeddin Borujerdi said on Sunday that the ongoing sanctions slapped against the Islamic Republic have allowed the Iranian people to develop their talents.
“Through intelligent management, the Islamic Republic of Iran has made a lot of progress in diverse arenas with the sanctions in effect,” he said in a meeting with Head of the Armenia-Iran Parliamentary Friendship Group Galust Sahakyan in Tehran.
In recent years the western governments have imposed new sanctions on Iran on the pretext that the country may be trying to develop a nuclear weapon capacity under the guise of its civilian nuclear program, an allegation strongly dismissed by Iran which states that it needs nuclear energy for generating electricity and other purely peaceful purposes.
Many of the sanctions predate the nuclear dispute and some of them are as old as the Islamic system in Iran, and the US has always found pretexts to tighten the existing sanctions and impose new ones.
On Sunday, Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei said that the US enmity towards Iran was not due to Iran’s nuclear program, which he described as a "pretext for Americans," but stressed that the US is opposed to “the entity of the Islamic Republic as well as the influence, credibility and might” of the system chosen by the Iranian nation.
"Was there the issue of nuclear program when the US imposed sanction on Iran in the beginning of the revolution, or when it targeted an Iranian passenger aircraft and killed 290 people onboard it, did it have the nuclear program pretext?" asked the Leader.
The Iranian legislator also touched on close ties between Tehran and Yerevan, and added, “Throughout the history, people of Iran and Armenia have always had amicable relations based on peaceful coexistence.”
The Armenian official, for his part, said his country regards Iran not only as a neighboring state, but also a friend and ally in regional and international scenes.
Sahakyan also stated that the new atmosphere in Iran after the presidential election in June has opened up an opportunity for the European countries to start developing friendly interactions with Tehran.
Tehran and Yerevan enjoy a long-lasting friendship in various fields, including political and cultural affairs.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, just one day after taking the office in August, announced that Tehran will focus efforts on strengthening relations with Armenia.
“Tehran’s effort will be focused on enhancement of relations (with Armenia) and raising the level of cooperation in all fields,” Rouhani said in a meeting with his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsian, here in Tehran on August 5.
He also pointed to cultural commonalities between the two neighboring countries, and said, “Relations between Iran and Armenia have been always friendly, close and on the basis of fulfillment of mutual interests.”
