Sputnik - The United States� actions in the Middle East, and particularly toward Iran, do not facilitate stabilization in the region, Austrian Second President of the National Council Karlheinz Kopf said Friday during a meeting with Russia�s speaker of the lower house of parliament, Vyacheslav Volodin.





MOSCOW (Sputnik)�� The United States still retains sanctions against�Iran in�space and human rights fields, and suspects Tehran of�sponsoring terror, a claim repeatedly denied by�Iran.
"As for�the US behavior with�regard to�such countries like�Iran and others, it does not promote stabilization of�the situation but�the other way around," Kopf said.


The second president of�the Austrian parliament's lower chamber added that Vienna was interested in�a partnership with�Iran, noting that Tehran could contribute to�stabilizing the Middle East.


"We are very interested on�our side in�cooperation with�Iran, because I think that Iran can contribute to�the stabilization process in�the region," Kopf noted.


Kopf remarked that sanctions against�the Iranian banking sector were still in�place, halting the development of�the country.

Iran and six world powers reached a framework agreement in�July 2015 over�the Iranian nuclear issue, forming a plan of�action that should ease the sanctions regime against�Tehran. The plan�s implementation began in�January 2016.