Chairman of the Expediency Council Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani says the July nuclear agreement with the six world powers augurs well for both Iran and the West, IRNA reported.
The deal between Iran and the P5+1 (five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany) will give Iran relief from sanctions in exchange for restrictions for specified durations on its nuclear energy program.
Rafsanjani, a former president, said in a meeting with the marshal of Poland’s Senate, Bogdan Borusewicz in Tehran on Saturday that Iran-EU ties could improve despite “political barriers and the propaganda campaign by the Zionist regime.”
Referring to Poland’s concerns about the recent refugee crisis that has brought hundreds of thousands of immigrants from mostly Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan to its borders, the senior cleric said, “The international community expects European countries, which claim to promote human rights, to adopt a more generous approach to those seeking refuge.”
Alluding to the shocking policy of former colonialists in the western world and their habit of supporting dictators and authoritarian regimes in the Middle East and beyond, Rafsanjani said the flood of refugees is largely due the West’s arrogance in the past. “They have been displaced as a result of the wrong policies of the West and dictators in recent years.”
He said the crises spreading in the region and other parts of the world cannot be addressed effectively but through “dialogue and consideration of humanitarian issues.”
On the futility of always resorting to military power to address chronic political problems, he said, “Although war and bombing can temporarily stop conflicts, they cannot produce ultimate and lasting solutions.”
Iran sees no limit to expansion of its relations with Poland in any domain, Rafsanjani told the visitor.
Borusewicz said Warsaw is interested in elevating ties to Tehran, which plays an important role in helping promote stability in the Middle East.
“Improvement in two-way ties is a necessity and we hope that after the resolution of [the nuclear dispute] through the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the official name of the nuclear pact], there will be no impediment to enhancing bilateral relations,” he added.
