Berlin, Aug 14, IRNA , Iran has not started a war in over 1,000 years, a leading German Mideast scholar and journalist said Tuesday.

"The last offensive Iranian war dates back to over 1,000 years," wrote Michael Lueders in an analytical piece for Tuesday's edition of the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper.

He also pointed out that contrary to US and Israeli claims there has been no "substantiated proof" that Iran is seeking nuclear weapons.

Meanwhile, Lueders stressed also that sanctions imposed against Tehran will mainly hurt European interests in Iran, as other countries are waiting in line to fill the void.

Russia, China and India are waiting to fill the gap as a result of Europe's scaling down of business ties with Iran, he added.

Lueders said that UN sanctions against Iran are a "weak weapon".

The sanctions are "patchy and damage mostly the European economy rather than the Iranian economy", the expert added.

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