Ahmadinejad adviser says US sanctions against Iran have failed

TEHRAN - A key adviser of Iran President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad has said that the sanctions spearheaded by the United States against his country have failed to have an impact.

Mojtaba Samareh Hashemi said the measures were designed to pressure Iran and have been useless, and therefore, it was time for the United States and other Western nations “to stop fooling themselves” over their effectiveness.

According to the Washington Post, Hashemi, 52, a foreign policy expert and long time confidant of Ahmadinejad, said in an interview Monday that actions such as the banning of Iranian ships from European ports, a fuel blockade against Iran Air and increasing financial restrictions have had “no noticeable effect” and that the failure of the sanctions has propelled the West to restart talks - a direct contradiction of the U.S. view.

“The delay in the negotiations has been a good opportunity for the other side to realize the effects of its political decisions. We hope they will make the best use of it,” Hashemi said.

Iran is scheduled to meet with representatives of the United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany next month for the first time since October 2009. (ANI)