Iranian President Ebrahim Raeisi has underlined the country’s successful policies in thwarting the illegal sanctions imposed on it stressing that the era of west’s dominance is over.

During a meeting with his Croatian counterpart Zoran Milanovic on the sidelines of the 78th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York on Monday Raeisi said Iran has made great progress despite sanctions.

“Despite efforts made by some Western countries to impose their interests and values on other countries in the world, the Islamic Republic of Iran has managed to turn sanctions and pressures into opportunities and has made significant progress in different fields, particularly the field of technology,” he said.

Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that Iran has made significant achievements in the fields of agriculture, industry, and medicine thanks to its peaceful nuclear program, noting that “we managed to treat one million patients with radiopharmaceuticals last year.”

“Why do the US and European countries, that own nuclear arsenals prevent other countries from benefiting from nuclear energy,” he added.

Raeisi also hailed Milanovic’s announcement that his country is adopting an independent policy and expressed Iran’s interest in expanding political, economic, and trade ties with Croatia.

Milanovic, for his part, said Croatia has always tried to adopt independent policies, despite being a member of the US-led NATO military alliance and the European Union.

He noted that the adoption of independent foreign policy paves the way for “an ideal world.”

The Croatian president also opposed any attempt to impose values and cultures on other countries and condemned the US withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and world countries.