The chairman of the Expediency Council said "political rationality" is the main precondition for achieving positive results in nuclear negotiations.
Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani made the remarks in a meeting with Italian Ambassador Mauro Conciatori in Tehran on Sunday, IRNA reported.
"If diplomatic principles and mutual respect are observed in the course of talks, a final deal can be achieved even sooner than expected," he noted.
Noting that the intensive talks between Iran and the western powers in the Swiss city of Lausanne indicated the determination of the two sides to solve the issue, he said, "The Iranian government has sought a win-win approach from the very beginning."
Saying the West "wrongly" believed it could exert pressure on Iran by imposing sanctions, he said since the 1979 Islamic Revolution, Iran has constantly been under different types of sanctions, but it has proved it is able to leave all difficulties behind.
Expressing concern over the current developments in the Middle East, Rafsanjani said Iran is determined to help free the region from insecurities.
"Terrorism is the most serious problem in the region, which has grown from isolated incidents to broader actions," he said, adding that now terrorist groups have access to global means of communications just as governments do.
He described the intensified killing of the innocent people in Yemen following the Saudi military attack as a "humanitarian catastrophe", and voiced regret that some regional states make use of terrorism to achieve their political objectives.
Calling Iran a victim of terrorism, he said the Islamic Republic is ready to pay the cost of alleviating the "poison of terrorism."
He said eradication of terrorism from the region is a "difficult task which demands global resolve, as it can easily spread to other regions beyond the Middle East.
Brighter Future
The statesman described Iran and Italy as two nations with old civilizations and rich cultures and said they can map out a bright future for bilateral relations.
The Italian ambassador, for his part, referred to historical and cultural status of Iran and Italy and their strategic locations in the world.
Conciatori said the Italian government is looking forward to establishing new relations with the Islamic Republic. "Italy sees Iran as a bridge that connects the East and the West and hopes to strengthen ties with Tehran," he asserted.
Describing Iran as "the pillar of stability," he noted that Tehran can play its role in bringing stability to the region.
On nuclear talks between Iran and the P5+1 (the five permanents members of the UN Security Council plus Germany), he advised the two sides to settle the disputes at the negotiation table rather than exposing it to the media.
