MP: Western Sanctions Unable to Impede Iran’s Scientific Progress

A senior Iranian lawmaker underlined the ineffectiveness of the US-led western sanction on Iran and its scientific progress, and said that Washington and the West have increased their pressures on the Islamic Republic to hinder Iran’s progress, but to no avail.

“The reason for the US hostility towards the Iranian nation is not the nuclear issue, rather the US believes that Iran’s scientific progress will contribute to Iran’s mightiness and power and it is, hence, pressuring Iran through sanctions to prevent its scientific advancement,” Tehran’s deputy Mohammad Soleimani said, addressing a conference in Tehran on Sunday.

He noted that whenever the US and the West pressure Iran, the Iranian nation has come to the scene more powerfully and firmly.

In similar remarks earlier this month, Iranian Minister of Science, Research and Technology Kamran Daneshjou also played down the effects of the US-led western sanctions on Iran’s scientific growth and progress, saying that science and knowledge are not prone to sanctions.

“We do not consider knowledge and science to be prone to sanctions and no one and no power can deprive the Iranian scientists’ minds of creativity and flourishing,” Daneshjou said, addressing the 26th International Kharazmi Festival here in Tehran.

He underlined that Iranians are a peaceful nation, but they do not like to become westernized or adopt western-style methods.

“We do not want hostility and war with any government and nation and we are not even seeking war with the US and West either, because we are a peace-seeking nation; yet, we do not accept to become Westernized and be inclined towards the West since we bear an Iranian and Islamic identity and we are proud of it,” Daneshjou said.

He reminded that several Iranian scientists have so far been assassinated by the Zionist regime, but underlined that “our nation does not allow its Islamic-Iranian identity to be harmed”.

Political observers believe that the West has remained at loggerheads with Iran mainly over the independent and home-grown nature of Tehran’s nuclear technology, which gives the Islamic Republic the potential to turn into a world power and a role model for the other third-world countries. Washington has laid much pressure on Iran to make it give up the most sensitive and advanced part of the technology, which is uranium enrichment, a process used for producing nuclear fuel for power plants.

Iran has so far ruled out halting or limiting its nuclear work in exchange for trade and other incentives, saying that renouncing its rights under the NPT would encourage the world powers to put further pressure on the country and would not lead to a change in the West’s hardline stance on Tehran.