Iran, Denmark mull expansion of ties

Iranian and Danish officials say they are ready to expand longtime trade and economy ties, despite a host of US-sponsored sanctions against Tehran.

Iranian Foreign Ministry’s Director General for Northeastern Europe Behnam Behrouz and Deputy Danish Foreign Minister Anne Steffensen discussed areas of possible cooperation during a meeting in Copenhagen on Monday.

“Denmark is one of Iran’s longtime trade partners and we are keen to expand our cooperation and ties with the state, particularly in the economy sector,” IRNA quoted Behrouz as saying.

The Danish official, for her part, stressed that Copenhagen would welcome a boost in relations with the Islamic Republic, noting a significant rise in the volume of exports to Tehran over the past months.

“Danish companies will be encouraged to boost their activities in Iran’s market and we hope that the resolution of Iran and the West’s nuclear standoff would pave the way for further expansion of ties in all areas,” Steffensen said.

The Danish foreign ministry official also underscored that the US-endorsed sanctions against Iran has no bearing on Copenhagen’s economic relations with Tehran.

“The major part of the two states’ economic cooperation has nothing to do with the sanctions,” she added.

In June, the UN Security Council imposed a fourth set of US-engineered sanctions against Iran over Tehran’s nuclear program, which the West and Israel claim harbors a covert military agenda — a claim rejected by the Islamic Republic.

Tehran says that as an IAEA member and a signatory to the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT) it has the right to use peaceful nuclear energy.