Baku, Azerbaijan, Feb. 18
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that even if Iran implements west's conditions for its nuclear program, they would not remove the sanctions.
"They are against the principle of the Islamic Revolution so I believe that the sanctions would remain even if Iran 's nuclear case advances as the West dictates," the supreme leader said, Khamenei's official website reported Feb. 18.
Khamenei made the remarks during a meeting in Tehran with people coming from the country's East Azerbaijan Province to visit the leader.
Iran can stands against the sanctions and foil the enemies' plots, Khamenei said, adding otherwise "the enemy will put conditions for our nuclear program and would impose sanctions."
The enemies use sanctions tool ultimately to stop Iranians' progresses, he said.
"While the Islamic Republic owns the biggest reserve of oil and gas in the world, which is needed by the EU and the entire world, it can impose sanctions against west if it is considered necessary," Khamanei argued.
He also emphasized that the Islamic Republic should cut dependence of its budget on oil incomes. The budget must rely on domestic production and taxes revenues, he said.
Iran and the P5+1 (the US, the UK, Russia, China, France and Germany) group have extend their negotiations to reach a comprehensive nuclear deal, with the aim of reaching a high-level political agreement by 1 March, and confirming the full technical details of the agreement by July 1.
After the sides failed to meet the November 24, 2014 deadline they also extended the Geneva nuclear deal, which was signed in November 2013 to provide Iran with some sanctions relief in exchange for Tehran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities.
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon - something that Iran denies.
Edited by CN
Follow the author on Twitter: @UmidNiayesh