After 18 months of secret negotiations, US President Barack Obama ordered the restoration of full diplomatic ties between the United States and Cuba on Dec. 17, ending half-century-old US policy. Iranian officials and media outlets are painting the change in US policy as an acknowledgement that the US sanctions have not been effective in changing Cuba’s positions. Though there are major differences between US-Iran and US-Cuba relations, both Iran and Cuba, after experiencing revolutions, expelled all American influence from their country while changing the balance of power in their regions and facing severe US pressure and sanctions.
Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said, “The resistance of the Cuban people and officials on their principles and the ideals of the revolution during the last 50 years showed that a policy of isolation and sanctions from domineering powers against the will and endurance of independent governments and people is ineffective and inefficient.”
