“The inefficiency of sanctions and pressure aimed at limiting Iran’s development and progress is evident to all,” Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a meeting with Speaker of the Singapore Parliament Halimah Yacob in Tehran on Sunday.

Zarif said the bans have "increased the will for self-sufficiency and reliance on domestic capacities in Iran.”

Further highlighting the negative impact of the inhuman sanctions against Iran, Zarif said, “The continuation of these restrictions will only deepen the Iranian people’s distrust and negative view of the West.”

He pointed to the nuclear talks between Iran and the six major world powers in Vienna and expressed hope for a “leap in cooperation and economic and commercial exchanges with the removal of some of the current restrictions.”

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council – Russia, China, France, Britain and the US – plus Germany are scheduled to hold the next round of nuclear talks in the Austrian capital of Vienna on June 16-20.

Tehran and the six world powers have been discussing ways to iron out differences and start drafting a final deal that would end the West’s dispute with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.

In November 2013, the two sides signed an interim nuclear deal in the Swiss city of Geneva that came into force on January 20.

The Singaporean parliament speaker, for her part, expressed hope that Iran and the six countries would hold successful talks in line with the interests and demands of the Iranian nation.

Singapore hopes for enhanced economic and trade ties with Iran after the removal of the present restrictions, Yacob said.

Heading a parliamentary delegation, Yacob arrived in Tehran early Saturday to hold talks with senior Iranian officials.

MB/MB