IRANIAN President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the former ‘criminal’ US administration did great injustice to the people of Iran with its terrorist acts, and that the new leadership in the White House has so far failed to take any practical measure to make up for the past wrongdoings.
‘The current US administration has repeatedly acknowledged the wrongdoings of the previous administration, but, two months on, we have not seen anything in practice (from Washington) to make up for these mistakes, and it has just been mere words,’ Rouhani said in an address to the inauguration ceremony of national projects of the Energy Ministry.
He expressed hope that the new US administration would ‘return to the path of rationality and law and take steps in this regard.’
‘Undoubtedly, if they return to compliance with their commitments, it will be not only in their own interests, but in the interests of the region, international organisations and commitments on the global scene,’ Rouhani said.
Former US president Donald Trump abandoned the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) which was signed between Iran and major world powers, in 2018 and imposed the ‘harshest ever’ sanctions on Iran, prompting Tehran to take remedial actions based on Article 36 of the JCPOA, including reduction of its nuclear obligations.
The new US administration, under President Joe Biden, has been so far faithful to Trump’s pressure campaign, and pressed Tehran to walk back its remedial steps while it is keeping the illegal sanctions in place as leverage – a path already taken and proven futile.
But Tehran says the US, as the first party that reneged on its commitments, should take the first steps towards the deal’s revival and unconditionally remove all the sanctions imposed under Trump in a verifiable manner.
Elsewhere in his address, Rouhani said the inauguration of the national energy projects under the difficult conditions of the enemy’s economic war and the outbreak of the coronavirus indicated that the Iranian people, especially the youth and engineers, have dynamic minds.
He added that given the continuation of the acts of terror by the United States against the Islamic Republic, many economic activities and the process of exports and imports of the country were faced with difficulties.
‘We even have restrictions for purchasing the coronavirus vaccine,’ the Iranian president stated.
He said the inauguration of national projects would encourage the Iranian people and deal a heavy blow to the enemies because they expected to harm the country’s economy but failed to achieve their goals.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed the US’ malign activities in the Middle East, stressing the need for all neighbours to engage in collective cooperation and work to prevent foreign meddling in the affairs of the troubled region.
Speaking at the 2nd International Tehran Dialogue Forum, Zarif slammed Washington’s malign activities in the Middle East, saying the US has spent billions of dollars on its military sector only to destabilise the region.
Zarif also warned against foreign interference in the Middle East’s affairs, stressing that there is no need for outsiders to decide the region’s future.
He underlined the necessity of dialogue among regional nations, saying ‘Iran is ready to hold talks with all its neighbours’ over the region’s security.
Iran’s initiative, called Hormuz Peace Endeavour (HOPE), helps promote regional security through collective cooperation and free from foreign meddling, he said.
The top Iranian diplomat also censured the US for keeping its anti-Iran sanctions amid the deadly coronavirus pandemic, saying such measures are part of an economic war targeting the Iranian people.
‘US economic war against Iran has consequences, including hurdles in fighting the coronavirus pandemic in Iran,’ Zarif said at the forum, where he was joined with his counterparts from Turkey and Afghanistan.
Echoing Zarif’s remarks, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu also rejected the unilateral US sanctions against Iran, saying Ankara supports Washington’s return to the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and its full implementation.
Following the speech, the Turkish minister said in a tweet that the three sides ‘shared our vision on regional cooperation regarding the Caucasus, the Eastern Mediterranean and Afghanistan.’
‘We can achieve peace and prosperity together in our region,’ Cavusoglu added.
In turn, Afghan Foreign Minister Hanif Atmar warned against growing security threats in his country, saying Afghan soil should not become a safe haven for terrorists.
The forum held its first edition last year with the presence of senior officials and heads of research institutes from different countries. The event is aimed at exchanging views on major developments in sensitive areas surrounding Iran, including the Persian Gulf.
- The spokesman for Iran’s administration says not only did the Islamic Republic frustrate the US’ attempts to isolate the country and portray it as a source of security threat, but it also managed to bring about isolation and legal condemnation in the international arena for America itself.
‘Through steadfastness and insistence on diplomacy instead of bringing about crises, we brought about moral isolation and legal condemnation for the US at the United Nations General Assembly (UNGA)’s and Security Council (UNSC)’s meetings as well as at the International Court of Justice (ICJ) at The Hague,’ Ali Rabiei told a news conference in Tehran on Tuesday.
He was referring to various addresses by Iranian officials, including President Hassan Rouhani, at the UNGA, where the United States has no veto power to fight off condemnatory endeavours.
Iran also succeeded, on two major occasions, against the US at the UNSC, once successfully fending off its bid to prevent the lifting of an arms embargo against the Islamic Republic, and then confronting an illegal drive by Washington to enable a so-called ‘snapback’ of the Security Council’s sanctions against Tehran.
In 2018, the ICJ ruled on a case that had been raised by the Islamic Republic against the US’ illegal and unilateral sanctions, mandating Washington to suspend the bans. Earlier this year, the court that serves as the UN’s legal arm, also threw out an objection brought up by the US claiming that the tribunal did not have jurisdiction over the sanction case.
The US returned the sanctions under former president Donald Trump after leaving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), a multilateral nuclear deal between Iran and world countries.
Washington took those steps in sheer disregard for the JCPOA’s multiparty nature and the fact that the deal has been ratified as a UNSC resolution.
‘Today, we can say that attempts made by all the ill-wishers, who wanted Iran to fall apart and sought to destroy the people’s lives, are reaching their end,’ the official said.
The Iranian administration managed to buttress the economy in the face of the American coercive measures and stand up to the new coronavirus pandemic as part of its campaign to confront America’s ‘maximum pressure’ policy.
