Iran's Khatami Says U.S. Sanctions The "Price" Of Independence
TEHRAN, Jan 23 (News Agencies) - Iranian President Mohammad Khatami said Tuesday that US sanctions against Cuba and his own country were "the price" of independence from Washington's powerful interests.
"The American sanctions are unacceptable, and they are the price that our two countries must pay for their independence and the defence of their interests," Khatami said after talks with visiting Cuban Foreign Minister Felipe Perez Roque.
Khatami, whose remarks were issued in a statement released to the press after the meeting, added that Tehran was "impatiently" awaiting a visit from Cuban leader Fidel Castro.
Roque, who was winding up his two-day visit Tuesday, for his part hailed the "resistance of the Iranian people" to the sanctions as well as Tehran's behaviour in the 1980-1988 Iran-Iraq war.
Washington imposes unilateral sanctions on both Cuba and Iran.
Khatami made a brief visit to Cuba last year during his return to Tehran from the United Nations.
