West’s sanctions on Iran ‘self - punishment’

Iranian ambassador to Ireland Javad Kachoueian has described the West's imposition of sanctions against Iran as an act of "self-punishment."
The sanctions against Iran are a form of "self-punishment" by the West, the envoy said in an interview with the Irish Times published on Wednesday.
Kachoueian said that the West, as a result of the sanctions, deprived itself of the opportunity to boost economic and trade ties with Iran and lost its place to China.
"Now we have €40 billion in trade with China, and that is due to increase to €100 billion. The impact of sanctions was that the EU gave up its place as Iran's leading trade partner to China," he said.
Commenting on Iran's atomic energy program, the envoy said that the West's hype about Tehran's nuclear activities is merely aimed at undermining the country's independence.
"It's not about nuclear weapons," he said, adding "I am sure they know that all our nuclear activities are peaceful. But they put pressure on Iran, not because of our nuclear activities, but because of our independent foreign policy."
The envoy's remarks come as Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, France, Britain, Russia, China - plus Germany have been holding talks to iron out their differences and reach a final deal, which would end the standoff over the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
The two sides held the latest round of nuclear negotiations in the Austrian capital city of Vienna earlier this month. The next round of official talks would be held on 16-20 June in Vienna.
In November 2013, the two sides signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva, which came into force in January.
Iran was hit by sanctions from the US and the EU over unsubstantiated allegation that its nuclear activities are geared to military purposes.
PressTV