Western sanctions have failed to impede Iran’s progress: Mehmanparast

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman says the Western sanctions on Iran have failed to impede the Islamic Republic’s progress in various fields of science.

Ramin Mehmanparast said on Thursday that Iran ranked well in the field of nanotechnology despite sanctions.

The Iranian official made the remarks in a meeting with officials and academics of the Belarus State Economic University in Minsk, Belarus.

Independent countries such as Iran and Belarus can make progress within the framework of enhanced economic and political cooperation, despite Western political pressure, Mehmanparast stated.

The Iranian spokesperson, who is on a visit to Belarus at the head of a media delegation, added that the world was currently faced with a critical situation.

The United States seeks to impose restrictions on Iran under the pretext of issues such as non-observance of democracy, human rights, and nuclear energy, Mehmanparast said.

He also stated that the Western sanctions had been imposed on Iran based on the unfounded allegation that Tehran was pursuing non-civilian objectives in its nuclear energy program.

Iran’s nuclear energy activities are under the surveillance of the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and no evidence has been found to prove a non-peaceful nature of the program, Mehmanparast added.

Iran says it has the right to use nuclear technology for peaceful purposes as a signatory to the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) and a member of the IAEA.