TEHRAN, YJC. In a round table on Azerbaijan's role in the world and regional problems by Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan authorities have expressed their condemnations of sanctions against Iran.
Azerbaijani MPs Asim Mollazadeh and Rasim Musabayov, Jonathan Horsman and Jamie McConkey from "Project Associates", and leading British media representatives, as well as experts from Trend Agency and AzerNews newspaper participated in the event.
Regarding the situation in the region around Iran, Azerbaijani experts agreed that in the case of aggravation of the situation and military action against the country, Azerbaijan will not interfere due to the lack of resources and motivation.
According to Musabeyov, minimization of the threat to the country is of primary importance for Baku.
As of the situation in Iran itself, Trend's Iran News Service Chief Dalga Khatinoglu answered the questions of Western journalists, noting that sanctions against Iran affect not only the government, but ordinary people as well.
"Over the last year, the export of Iranian oil has halved, oil production has declined by 40 percent, the currency has fallen by half, inflation rate, according to official statistics, constitutes 32 percent. Medication costs tripled with some of the medicine not being available at all. Due to the embargo, imposed by West against Iran on export of gasoline, the latter leads to hazardous air pollution in the country and threatens public health. Such examples are numerous, however Iran is determined to continue its nuclear program," he said.
Khatinoglu added that the more Iran loses due to sanctions, the less it is determined to pull back and compromise on its nuclear program.
According to Khatinoglu, the country's safety is the priority for Iranian government, and in this context, the result may only be achieved through discussions between Iran and the West.