Iranian EC chairman says West is dishonest, not interested in interaction

TEHRAN, June 23 (MNA) – Iranian Expediency Council Chairman Ayatollah Akbar Hashemi Rafsanjani said on Wednesday that Western powers are not honest and are not interested in interaction. Commenting on the latest round of talks between Tehran and the 5+1 group (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council and Germany), which was held in the Russian capital Moscow on June 18 and 19, Rafsanjani said, “The talks showed that Western sides are not interested in interaction, are not honest, and have based their policy only on bullying in order to find an opportunity to achieve their objectives in the future.” “In fact, they want to keep the dossier of their bullying open so that they can pursue their hegemonistic policies,” he added. He also said that the right way to deal with the hegemonistic powers’ plots is to promote unity and empathy between the people, officials, and all groups within the Islamic system. “We should become united in a way that external enemies cannot undermine the interests of the country and the nation,” Rafsanjani said. During two days of intensive talks in Moscow, Iran and the major powers could not achieve concrete results to help end the dispute over Iran’s nuclear program, but the two sides agreed to hold expert meetings in Istanbul on July 3 to “bridge the large gap in views.”