West only pretends to support democracy in region

Iran’s Majlis speaker says the West has realized that it cannot advance its policies by supporting regional despots, therefore, it pretends to support democracy.

“After realizing that they cannot achieve their colonialist objectives in the region through support for dictators, arrogant powers began pretending to advocate democracy,” said Ali Larijani on Saturday.

He made the remarks in a meeting with a delegation comprised of the members of the Tunisian National Constituent Assembly and the al-Nahda Council in Tehran on Saturday.

Larijani added, “Colonialists are seeking to obstruct the establishment of genuine democracy in Muslim countries by using their financial power.”

He said the Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported Tunisia’s 2011 uprising against long-time dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, and welcomes independence as well as promotion of democracy in Muslim countries.

The senior Iranian official also pointed to Iran’s high scientific and technological capabilities, stating that Tehran is ready to further broaden its cooperation with Tunisia in political, economic, cultural, and parliamentary fields.

The members of the Tunisian delegation, for their part, expressed gratitude for Larijani’s participation in the February 7 ceremony in the Tunisian capital of Tunis that was held to celebrate the adoption of the country’s first post-revolution constitution. The Tunisian constitution was approved on January 26, after receiving 200 of the 216 votes at the National Constituent Assembly.

“Given that a new chapter has opened in the friendly relations between the two countries, these relations should expand in diverse areas,” the members of the Tunisian delegation added.