IRNA � The West should learn from Iran how to observe rights of the religious minorities, Iran's envoy to Spain said.


Speaking to the Spanish daily, Expansion, Mohammad-Hassan Fadaeifard criticized the western media's attempts to project an unreal image of Islamic Republic of Iran.

He said the image presented on Iran is so distorted that when the Western citizens visit Iran, they face a totally different reality from what they have been told.

This makes the media unreliable, he said.

Noting the differences between cultural values in Iranian community and the West, the senior diplomat said the idea that western cultures should be implemented in Iran is totally rejected as well as impossible.

'In a community with a Muslim majority, people are committed to honor Islamic values; therefore, in Iran, not only the culture and community, but also policies are in line with the Sharia laws,' the ambassador said.

Religious freedom in Iran is much more than that in Europe, he said arguing that some 600,000 followers of Christianity, Judaism, and Zoroastrianism in the country have five lawmakers in the Parliament and are enjoying legal rights; whereas, there are no such special legal rights for religious minorities in European countries.

Respecting each other's values is a prerequisite for peaceful co-existence of cultures and nations, he said.