Cuba resistance invalidated US sanctions, isolation policy: Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said Saturday that Cuba’s resistance over the past 54 years since the country’s revolution has “proved that the policy of isolation and sanctions pursued by domineering powers against the will and resistance of independent nations and governments is fruitless and ineffective.”

Pointing to the US acknowledgement that isolating Cuba had been ineffective, the Iranian official said the recent development surrounding Washington-Havana relations could be a step toward decreasing tensions in the region.

In a major policy shift, US President Barack Obama described US policy toward Cuba outdated and ineffective and announced that Washington and Havana will restore diplomatic relations more than 50 years after they were broken.

“I do not believe we can continue doing the same thing for over five decades and expect a different result,” Obama said during remarks at the White House on Wednesday, adding, “Isolation has not worked.”

Cuba and the United States have not had diplomatic relations since 1961.

The United States imposed a partial trade sanction on the Caribbean island nation in October 1960. The measure later evolved into a full trade embargo in February 1962.