US Urged to Be Realistic about Iran’s Counterterrorism Role
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s foreign ministry spokesperson dismissed his US counterpart’s “repetitious and unrealistic” remarks against the Islamic Republic, urging Washington’s sensible approach to Iran’s positive role in the Middle East.
“We are not surprised at hearing the repetitious and unrealistic remarks by this American official and are aware of the intentions and objectives behind repetition of such baseless and unfounded claims and accusation against the Islamic Republic of Iran by this country’s (US) various officials,” Bahram Qassemi said on Wednesday in reaction to comments by US Department of State spokesperson Heather Nauert.
Speaking in a press briefing on Tuesday, Nauert said, “We still believe what Iran is doing is destabilizing and that the JCPOA does not fully recognize and comprehend and encompass all these destabilizing activities that Iran is engaged in.”
Qassemi rejected the accusations, saying it seems that his US counterpart “is not interested in the establishment of peace, stability and security in the Middle East and the world and is unhappy with the fading trend of terroirs in Iraq and Syria.”
He recommended the US to be realistic about Iran’s “unmatched role in fighting terrorism in the Middle East”.
Iran has been supporting the governments and nations of Iraq and Syria in their campaign against terrorism and has played an important role in the two Arab countries’ victories against terrorist groups.
Qassemi further underlined Tehran’s adherence to both the text and spirit of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a nuclear deal between Iran and world powers, saying it has been confirmed times and again by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and by other JCPOA parties.
This is while the new US administration’s approach in the past few months is in violation of the text of the nuclear deal that calls for avoiding, in good will, any measures that hampers the successful implementation of the international and multilateral deal, he went on to say.
Iran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany) on July 14, 2015 reached a conclusion over the text of the comprehensive 159-page deal on Tehran’s nuclear program and started implementing it on January 16, 2016.
However, Iranian officials have complained about the failure of the other side, especially the US, to fully implement the accord.
On Saturday, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani warned that Tehran can go back to conditions before conclusion of the JCPOA within hours if the US continues to violate the terms of the agreement and impose new sanctions against the country.
“The new US administration officials should know that the failed experience of threats and sanctions forced their predecessors to come to the negotiating table. If they prefer to return to those times, Iran will definitely return to a situation much more advanced than the start of the (nuclear) negotiations, not within months and weeks, but in a matter of hours and days,” he said.
Washington has recently approved a series of anti-Iran sanctions, which Iranian officials, including the head of the Iranian task force to monitor the implementation of the deal, say have broken the terms of the JCPOA.
