Iran emerges stronger despite heavy sanctions – British analyst

London, Feb 9, IRNA - British political analyst and Middle East Consultant, Peter Eyer believes that despite the heavy sanctions imposed by the west, Iran has emerged stronger and without injury. “I believe that the west now fully understands that Iran is not only extremely rich in natural resources, but its inner strength to survive against all odds makes it a nation to be respected”, Eyer told IRNA in an interview. The following is the full text of the interview: - How do you assess Iran’s position in the region and at the international scene? * I feel that despite the heavy sanctions imposed by the west and which were supported by many of the Pro-US Arab League members Iran has emerged much stronger and without injury. It continues to grow in strength with some tremendous advances in it technology and in doing so Tehran is showing the world that Iran can not only continue to hold its ground but at the same time can show its ability to advance into the 21st Century. - There have been many important developments during the last three decades, but relations between the Islamic Iran and some western countries are still tense, how do you see the future of these relations? * I believe that the west now fully understands that Iran is not only extremely rich in natural resources but its inner strength to survive against all odds makes it a nation to be respected. The launching of the NAM Summit Conference in Tehran was not only extremely successful, but it also revealed Iranˈs ability to gain support from many other nations and the fact that Iran is now the host nation that makes its presence on the international scene that much stronger. - Do you think the recent changes in US State Department and Pentagon would lead to practical shifts in Washingtonˈs foreign policy toward Iran? * I believe Obama and the US in general now fully understand that Iran is not a nation to be taken lightly and that the country does has the ability to defend itself if attacked. We can now see a swing of power from the west to the Far East and this has the potential to cause significant damage to not only the US but that of its current aggressive foreign policy. Changes are taking place as we speak and one can clearly see that the national debt within the US is beyond repair. It is obvious that very soon the US has to accept it is no longer the supreme super power it used to be and must succumb to the global changes that will force change. I believe Iran will play a major role, internationally speaking, when the next super power takes office and one could see your country becoming a sort of Islamic Super Power in the Middle East and rightfully so. - Iran and 5+1 have agreed to hold another rounds of nuclear talks on February 26th. What is your view on that? Can you see any positive sign for a peaceful resolution for this long-standing dispute? * The current western stance against Iran is a total farce and has nothing to do with Iranˈs capability to develop nuclear weapons. We saw this same situation when both Pakistan and India were wrongly blamed for their intentions in nuclear research and yet the west did not threaten action against them if they continued on their respective nuclear programs. The west, and the US in-particular, planned taking out at least seven Islamic countries well over 20 years ago in order to divide and conquer the Middle East with the intention to force a regime change and replace them with their own puppet governments. We can now see that Syria and Iran continue to remain strong resulting in the west swinging its attention to Africa. In relation to the next round of nuclear talks later this month, I feel that any future meetings on Iran serves no other purpose for them than to continue their intimidation on what is now clearly a lost cause. Iran must continue to hold its ground on this issue and in doing so it will show the international community that it has nothing to hide or fear.