FM Slams Pompeo's Anti-Iran Statements

Rasa - The Iranian foreign ministry in a statement blasted the recent anti-Iran statements by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo as cheap and a sign of the helplessness of American authorities in the face of Iran.

News ID: 437835

Date: 22 May 2018 - 23:18

RNA - "By rejecting each and every accusation raised in the so-called new strategy (of the US), Iran regards Mike Pompeo's rude remarks as blatant interference in its own internal affairs," the foreign ministry's statement said released on Monday.

It noted that Pompeo's cheap, baseless, offensive and meddlesome statements and his baseless and false labels against the noble and civilized nation of Iran indicate the helplessness of the American authorities, and said, "The US officials' efforts are aimed at distracting world public opinion from their illegal acts and breaches of that country's obligations under the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and the UN Security Council resolution."

The Iranian foreign ministry said Pompeo's remarks once again displayed information deficiency, lack of foresightedness... and confusion in the process of decision-making in the United States and indicated that warmongering and extremist elements in that country either do not know history, or are unable to learn a lesson from it.

"Despite opposition of almost all countries of the world except for few belittled regimes, the American regime has trampled upon all its political, legal and international obligations and so it is not in a position to set conditions for such a great country as Iran that has abided by all its commitments," the statement added.

It said that US should know that the consequences of its breaches of law and obligations would not provide it with any right and its consequences rest with the leaders of that country and their corrupt and Mafia-linked internal and external supporters.

"All calamities that have befallen the region raging from Iraq, Syria and Lebanon to Palestine, Yemen and Afghanistan are the results of the interventions of the United States and its allied Medieval Age dictatorial regimes and therefore it is not entitled to speak about Iran's policies towards its own region," the statement said.

It reiterated that supporting terrorism, particularly the state-terrorism, is the inner feature of the United States, and said, "No doubt that terrorist groups such as Al-Qaeda, Daesh (the ISIL) and other Takfiri terrorist groups who live on the money and capital of the US and support certain inefficient regimes of the region will be defeated and the American administration and its allies will be disgraced."

"The godfathers of Al-Qaeda, Daesh and hundreds of other terrorist groups which have endangered world peace and security are not in a position to make Iran's stabilizing and anti-terror measures aimed at uprooting terrorism look vice versa or follow up their domineering delusions," the Iranian Foreign Ministry added.

It said that those staging coups against legal governments, plundering oppressed nations, massacring innocent women and children, breaching international pacts and resolutions, producing and using weapons of mass destruction and trampling upon the rights of minority groups and colored people in their own country are not entitled to threaten a nation that has proudly stood up against all these crimes.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran which came to existence from the Islamic Revolution of the Iranian people, during four decades of its life has withstood and overcome all sinister plots of the United States and will continue to do so vigorously in the future," it said.

The Iranian foreign ministry recommended the US leaders, particularly its foreign secretary, to learn lessons from the policies that country adopted in the past towards the Iranian nation and stop their failed meddlesome policies aimed at dividing the people and popular Islamic Republic system in order not to be disgraced further before the world public opinion.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said that Washington will increase the financial pressure on Iran by imposing the "strongest sanctions in history" on the Islamic Republic if Tehran refuses to change the course of its foreign and domestic policy.

"We will apply unprecedented financial pressure on the Iranian regime. The leaders in Tehran should have no doubt about our seriousness," Pompeo said on Monday in his first major foreign policy address since moving to the State Department from the CIA.

Speaking weeks after the United States' move to withdraw from a landmark nuclear agreement Iran signed with major powers in 2015, he laid out 12 tough conditions for any "new deal" with Tehran. The conditions included withdrawal of Iran's military advisors from Syria, who have been helping the country's legitimate government in its anti-terror fight against terrorist outfits, which have been mostly aided and abetted by the US and its Western and regional allies.

He said Washington would be open to a new treaty and wanted the support of America's allies.

Pompeo warned that “the sting of sanctions will be painful” and Iran would struggle to “keep its economy alive” if it “does not change its course from the unacceptable and unproductive path it has chosen.”

The US secretary of state said relief from sanctions would only come when the US had seen tangible shifts in Iran's policies.

According to Fars News Agancy, US President Donald Trump announced on May 8 that Washington was walking away from the nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which was reached between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the US, Britain, France, Russia and China - plus Germany.

After Trump's declaration, the Iranian government issued a statement, calling the US withdrawal as "unlawful". The statement underlined Iran's prerequisites for continuing the deal with the five world powers after the US pullout of the agreement.

"Iran, as a country that has remained committed to its legal obligations, will pursue the US Government’s decision to withdraw from the JCPOA as provided by the mechanisms and provisions of the accord, and if the US withdrawal is not fully compensated and the full interests of the Iranian people are not met and guaranteed – as stated in the accord and as outlined by Iran’s Leader on 9 May – it will exercise its legal right to take whatever reciprocal measures it deems expedient. Other parties to the JCPOA, and especially its three European signatories, must take necessary action to safeguard the accord and to implement their commitments – which they proved incapable of fully performing even while the US was nominally a party to the deal, due to the obstructions by the Trump Administration – and to proceed from giving pledges to taking practical action without any preconditions," it said.

"None of the provisions or timeframes within the JCPOA, which were the subject of twelve years of negotiations, are negotiable in any manner. The US, which has through its meddling and erroneous policies ignited extremism, terrorism, destruction, war and child killing in our region, is in no position to issue any diktat about the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lawful presence within its own region nor its effective support for the peoples of Syria and Iraq in their endeavor to fight extremists. The US and its allies, which through their support for the regime of Saddam Hussein, including equipping it with chemical weapons and the most advanced military equipment while blocking Iran’s access to any means of defense victimized the Iranian people for eight years, and currently turning our region into a powder keg through their sale of hundreds of billions of dollars of useless advanced weaponry devouring the financial resources of the region, are in no position to impose restrictions on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s lawful means of defense, including defensive ballistic missiles which have been designed to carry conventional weapons based on the bitter experiences of the war with the regime of Saddam Hussein. Indeed, such efforts explicitly violate the principles of international law, and the Islamic Republic of Iran’s legitimate right to self-defense under Article 51 of the United Nations Charter," it added.

"As announced by the President of the Islamic Republic of Iran on 8 May, the Foreign Minister has been tasked with the duty of taking the necessary measures to obtain required guarantees from the remaining parties to the JCPOA as well as Iran’s other economic partners, and to immediately report the results of this mission. Meanwhile, the President of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran has been tasked with taking all necessary steps in preparation for Iran to pursue industrial-scale enrichment without any restrictions, using the results of the latest research and development of Iran’s brave nuclear scientists."

"The people of Iran will with calm and confidence continue their path towards progress and development and the Government of the Islamic Republic of Iran has foreseen all necessary measures to facilitate this under any circumstances," the statement continued.

"The Islamic Republic of Iran, as a secure and powerful state, which derives its security and economic development from within, relying on the prudent participation and resilience of its brave and civilized people, seeks constructive and dignified engagement with the world, and as shown by its implementation of the JCPOA despite the United States’ continuous violations, is a trustworthy and committed partner for all who are prepared to cooperate on the basis of shared interests and mutual respect," it reiterated.

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