Inhuman Sanctions Deepen Iranians’ Resentment at West: FM
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s minister of foreign affairs said the Western sanctions on the country, particularly those imposed on the medical and scientific sectors, would only leave the West’s image in tatters among the Iranians.
“Continuation of those restrictions only deepens the Iranian people’s cynicism and negative attitude towards the West,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a meeting with visiting Singaporean Parliament Speaker Halimah Yacob in Tehran on Sunday.
The minister contended that the unilateral Western sanction targeting the medical, pharmaceutical and scientific sectors in Iran have very negative impacts on the nation’s view of Westerners.
Zarif, however, underlined that the sanctions have totally failed to impede Iran’s progress, since the country has witnessed considerable achievements in diverse scientific and technological areas in spite of restrictions.
In recent years, the US and its Western allies have slapped cruel sanctions on Iran under the pretext that the country's peaceful nuclear program might have a covert drive towards acquiring a nuclear weapons capability.
Iranian officials assert that the US and some other Western states use the nuclear issue as an excuse to pile up pressure on the Islamic Republic which has faced the US-led sanctions for the past several decades following the victory of the 1979 Islamic Revolution in the country.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif touched on the great headway Iran has made in the higher education sphere in recent years, and voiced Tehran’s preparedness to bolster academic relations with Singapore, including plans for the exchange of students and academics and carrying out joint scientific projects.
Yacob, for her part, welcomed the idea of strengthening cultural ties between Tehran and Singapore City, including initiatives for increased cooperation in the academic fields.
Heading a high-ranking delegation from Singapore, Yacob has held meetings with senior Iranian officials during her stay in Tehran.
Earlier on Saturday, she had a meeting with her Iranian counterpart Ali Larijani, during which the two speakers discussed a wide range of issues, including expansion of parliamentary ties as well as international developments.