Iranian Envoy: confrontational policies unhelpful to west

Iranian Ambassador to Rome Seyed Mohammad Ali Hosseini downplayed effectiveness of the US and the European states' inimical measures against Iran, and said such confrontational policies will not benefit them. Hosseini, who is also Tehran's accredited envoy to Malta, made the remarks in a meeting with Maltese Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Tonio Borg in Valetta, where he described the confrontational and inimical policies of certain European countries against Iran as "counterproductive" and "inefficient". He also described negotiations and interactions as the best way to settle the problems existing between the two sides. The Maltese top diplomat, for his part, praised Iran's rich culture and ancient civilization, and underlined his country's readiness for the development of cooperation with Iran in different fields, saying, "Certainly understanding and cooperation with such a country is preferred to any other approach." Hosseini's remarks came after the US, Britain, France and Canada on November 21 announced new sanctions on Iran following a US-dictated report by the International Atomic Energy Agency against Iran's nuclear activities, which of course did not at all state Tehran is moving towards a military program and only raised some suspicions although it did not have any clue or evidence to support its suspicions. Iranian officials have called on the world states to avoid compliance with the US policies against Iran, and warned that Tehran intends to take punitive measures against the states supportive of the US sanctions against the country. Iranian Parliament Speaker Ali Larijani said Tuesday that Tehran plans to revise ties and cooperation with all those countries supporting fresh sanctions against Tehran's economy. "They (the US and the EU) should not imagine that what they are doing will remain unanswered; Iran will definitely revise its ties with those countries that are showing such attitudes," Larijani told reporters on Tuesday. "We in the parliament will study this issue soon," Larijani noted, indicating that the government would also have a role in the revision of Tehran's ties with the abovementioned countries.