Iran should revise economic ties with hostile countries: Iranian MP

TEHRAN, Nov. 27 (MNA) -- MP Kazem Jalali said that Iran should revise its economic and trade relations with countries that have adopted a hostile political stance toward the Islamic Republic. Jalali made the remarks , in which he commented on Iran’s deliberations on its response to the fact that Britain ordered all British financial institutions to stop doing business with their Iranian counterparts, including the Central Bank of Iran, on November 21. Britain made the move after the International Atomic Energy Agency passed a resolution against Iran, which was based on a report by IAEA Director General Yukiya Amano released on November 8, in which he claimed that Iran appears to have worked on designing an atomic bomb. Jalali, who is the rapporteur of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran made efforts so that the Britons would be able to revise their attitude toward the Iranian nation. However, the Britons not only did not modify it but also continued to oppose the will of the Iranian nation.” The Iranian people expect a reduction in the level of Tehran-London ties, he stated. Jalali added, “In recent years, we have sometimes witnessed a reduction or an increase in the relations of the Islamic Republic of Iran with the British government, but the two countries’ economic and trade interactions have never declined and are continuing.” “We have the most economic interaction with the countries that have the worst political relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran, and the (previous) governments were expected to remedy this deficiency. However, very positive steps have been taken in this regard in recent years,” he stated. “We should seriously revise our economic ties with the countries with which we have political disagreements,” Jalali said, adding, “The economy is one of the most important elements of diplomacy.” He also said, “Our mistakes in regard to our political relations with these countries can be attributed to the private sector and partly to our laws. We should identify where the problem lies in this regard. For instance, domestic car manufacturing companies save car manufacturing companies of the country of France, which are on the verge of bankruptcy, a France which has not had good relations with the Islamic Republic in recent years, and the president of this country has adopted an inappropriate stance toward Iran.” “There is serious criticism as to why Iran should have the best economic relations with the countries that have the worst political relations with Iran,” Jalali stated. “The Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee has discussed the issue of a reduction in relations with these countries,” he added.