Iran says British policies not helpful to bilateral ties expansion

A top Iranian lawmaker said Wednesday that current British policies are not helpful to the expansion of bilateral ties, the official IRNA news agency reported.

In a meeting with new British ambassador to Iran Simon Gass, Alaeddin Boroujerdi, who heads Iranian parliament's national security and foreign policy commission, criticized Britain for its hardline policies towards Iran.

Referring to certain problems in the expansion of relations between Iran and Britain, Boroujerdi said current British policies are not helpful to the expansion of bilateral relations.

"Exclusion of the Mojahedin Khalq Organization (MKO) from the terrorist groups' list (by Britain), London's leading role in drafting sanctions on Iran" and London's "harsh stance towards Tehran's nuclear issue" are among the barriers against improving the mutual ties, he said.

He also urged the British ambassador to remedy Iranian people's mistrust, the report said.

Earlier in September, Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said he hopes the British government would "correct its past behavior."

Source: Xinhua