West the loser in sanctions game with Iran: MP

Iranian MP Alaeddin Boroujerdi says that the West has failed to achieve the objectives it had been pursuing through imposing sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

Boroujerdi, who is the chairman of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks during a meeting with Italian MP Lapo Pistelli in Tehran on Sunday.

“Over the past 30 years, the Iranian people have turned sanctions into opportunities to make progress in science and technology in such a way that Iran has made considerable progress, and, in practice, the West has been the loser in the sanctions game with Iran,” Boroujerdi stated.

The United States should respect Iran’s rights to peaceful use of nuclear energy and should make efforts to regain Iran’s confidence through lifting the sanctions, he added.

On the dispute over Tehran’s nuclear program, Boroujerdi said that access to nuclear weapons has no place in Iran’s comprehensive defense doctrine and that Iran is abiding by its commitments to the terms of the nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty.

He also commented on ties between Iran and Italy and stated that Iran attaches great importance to its relations with Italy, calling for the expansion of parliamentary ties between the two countries.

Pistelli said that Italy’s parliament is keen to increase its cooperation with the Iranian parliament.

Pistelli also held talks with Iranian MP Hossein Sobhaninia, who is the chairman of the Iran-Italy Parliamentary Friendship Group, on Sunday.