Tehran to continue aiding Damascus upon Syrian govt. request
TEHRAN(Basirat): Iranian foreign ministry spokesman, underlining that Iran's presence in Syria is at the request of Syrian government, said those who are in Syria without the authorization from the Damascus government, should leave the country.
Bahram Ghasemi made the remarks in his weekly press conference on
Monday, during which he also rejected the Russian media reports on
Iran’s withdrawal from Syria.
Ghasemi said "nobody can force Iran to do something against its will,” adding "Iran is an independent country that pursues its policies according to its own interests.”
He stressed "all those should leave Syria who entered the territory of the country without the approval of the Syrian government.”
With regard to Iran’s ongoing negotiation on the future of the JCPOA, he said Europe must act and talk will not do.”
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman on the appointment of new Iranian ambassadors to some countries, including Switzerland and Japan, he said that each of the previous ambassadors had returned to Tehran their mission had ended.
On the claims of some media reports saying that the future meeting of three European countries, China and Russia will focus on a new Iran nuclear deal, Ghasemi said "I think that think tanks and a psychological warfare in the region and the world are trying to influence the relations between Iran and Europe by publishing false news. Pompeo's remarks do not deserve a serious answer. What's published in the German newspaper is false."
"We will have no other talks with Europe other than the JCPOA,” Ghasemi said, adding "European leaders are wise enough to decide on what issues they should discuss in negotiations with Iran.”
"On Friday, we will have a joint JCPOA Commission meeting without the United States and the meeting will be held at the initiative of Iran to discuss the related issues," he added.
In reactions to Pompeo’s remarks on the possibility of renegotiations with Iran, Ghasemi said that it is 'ridiculous' that the United States withdrew from an international agreement and now wants to have renegotiations under other circumstances.
Later in his remarks, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said that Iran supports peace on the Korean peninsula, adding that the United States has shown that it is not trustworthy.
With regard to the reports on the sale of late Reza Shah’s residence on Mauritius Island, the Foreign Ministry spokesman said the building belongs to Iran, and because of its distance from Iran’s embassies and the costs to reconstruct it, the Iranian government aims to sell it and it has received some bids so far.
Ghasemi also touched upon the future cooperation with Iraq, saying "we regard Iraq as an independent country and seek a stable, secure and developed Iraq.”
Regrading the Hajj rituals and the exchange of visits by the Iranian and Saudi expert delegations to Riyadh and Tehran, Ghasemi said "there is no particular problem,” while adding that the exchange of bilateral delegations has not taken place yet.
In response to Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s future diplomatic efforts to discuss the future of the JCPOA, Ghasemi said the diplomatic efforts at various levels will vigorously go ahead to secure Iran’s interests.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said that some working groups have been formed between Iran the European countries after the recent foreign minister’s visit to Brussels, adding that Iran expects the members of the 4 +1 to do everything they can to fulfill their commitments.
Ghasemi dismissed accusations of aiding Taliban made by US-backed media in Afghanistan, saying that the claims are instigated by the United States military to try to divert attention from the real reason behind the recently intensified violence in the country.
He said that the Taliban attack on Farah city and its recapture by the government forces was not a new thing, but the group has attacked different cities across the country in the past.
Source:Mehrnews
