Iran Hopeful about Removal of West’s Sanctions in Near Future

Iran voiced optimism about the removal of the West’s unjust sanctions in the new Iranian year (to start March 21).

The announced was made by Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi in a joint press conference with his Benin counterpart Nassirou Arifari Bako in Tehran on Sunday.

Based on the latest information, the next Iranian year will be promising for lifting the sanctions, the Iranian minister said.

He said that the time is ripe to resolve the nuclear dispute with the western governments.

In similar remarks last week Salehi said the US-led West would hopefully start gradual removal of the sanctions against the Islamic Republic.

“With the measures devised by the Iranian diplomatic apparatus, we will witness the gradual removal of the sanctions from now on,” Salehi said on Sunday.

“The enemy claimed last year that crippling sanctions against Iran were on their way; however, they themselves have admitted that sanctions have not had much impact in Iran.”

“If the enemy has spent $100 to impose sanctions on Iran, it has not benefitted and reaped even $10 in return,” the minister added.

Salehi’s statements came after two days of successful talks between Iran and the six world powers in Almaty, Kazakhstan, almost two weeks ago.

Late in February, Iran and Group 5+1(the five permanent UN Security Council members plus Germany) agreed on further meetings after two days of talks in Kazakhstan, the first since negotiations broke down in June, 2012.

Both sides described the talks as “positive”.