Khamanei: Iran wishes to improve relations with Europe, not with USA

Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamanei told Austrian President Thomas Klestil who is visiting Tehran that Iran prefers to boost its relations with Europe and not with USA, which insists "on a unipolar world."

The Iranian news agency, IRNA, quoted Khamanei as saying, "Although the USA is stronger and richer than the European Union, Iran doesn't seek to establish relations with it, as bilateral relations should be friendship relations that are based on mutual respect and without intervening in the internal affairs of each side."

This came when Khamanei spoke during his meeting with Klestil, who is the first president of member state in the EU to visit Iran since the Islamic revolution in 1979.

Moreover, he said, "In spite of the US insistence on a unipolar world, the world cannot be run in the form of a single empire. every nation has its own objectives and values with the right to exist."

In addition, as a reference to the Western fears concerning the detention of 13 Jewish Iranians accused of spying for Israel, Khamanei said, "We don't take a permission from any one before punishing them."

The relation between Iran and the European Union has improved since Iranian President Mohamed Khatami assumed power in 1997.