Iran hails US-Cuba thaw as proof sanctions don't work

Iran has seized on Washington's historic rapprochement with Cuba after five decades of Cold War standoff as proof that big power sanctions do not work.

"The defense by the Cuban government and people of their revolutionary ideals over the past 50 years shows that policies of isolation and sanctions imposed by the major powers against the wishes of independent nations are ineffective," foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Akfham said.

The statement, released late Saturday, was Iran's first official reaction to the rapprochement announced by the two governments on Wednesday.