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Rafsanjani Terms US Sanctions on Iran as Failure
Former Iranian President Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Tuesday that US sanctions against Iran have hurt American companies and the U.S. intention to isolate Iran has backfired.
During a meeting with Swiss Ambassador to Iran Tim Guldimann, whose embassy houses the US interests section in Iran, Rafsanjani said that US economic sanctions on Iran have caused more losses to American companies than the Iranian side, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported.
Iran and the US broke off diplomatic relations in 1980 after Islamic students stormed the US embassy in Tehran and took its staff hostage in the heyday of the Islamic Revolution in 1979.
Washington has frozen Iran's assets in the US banks and has long since imposed economic sanctions on the Islamic country.
Deputy Majlis (parliament) Speaker Mohammad Reza Khatami said on Monday that there were no appropriate grounds at the moment for direct talks with Washington.
Lack of trust remained the main problem between the two countries, said Reza Khatami, a younger brother of President Mohammad Khatami and also the secretary-general of Islamic Iran Participation Front (IIPF), Iran's largest pro-reform caucus.
The distrust between the two nations has been reduced in recent years but it should be further curtailed, local daily Iran News quoted him as saying on Tuesday.
Political relationship is the last issue Iran and the US can talk about under the present circumstances, said Reza Khatami.
However, there are relatively appropriate grounds for talks on non-political relations, such as economic ties, he noted, adding that this situation must be taken advantage of, away from political bickering.
He criticized the US for holding the upper hand in its relations with Iran and urged the US to take the first important step to restore mutual confidence and goodwill.
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