Iran’s First VP Dismisses Hostile Posturing by US
Iran’s first vice president dismissed on Saturday recent anti-Iran posturing by the United States, saying “threadbare” accusations against Iran are aimed by Washington at scaring away investors.
The administration of US President Donald Trump has recently ratcheted up its
rhetoric against Iran. Trump himself, Defense Secretary James Mattis, and White
House national security adviser Michael Flynn have all recently made anti-Iran
comments. Mattis on Saturday called Iran "the single biggest state sponsor of
terrorism in the world.”
Is’haq Jahangiri, the Iranian first vice president, said accusations that Iran
supports terrorism have gone threadbare. "The Iranian nation and authorities do
not attach the least value to these remarks,” he said.
Had it not been for Iran, Jahangiri said, Syria would have today fallen to the
ISIL terrorist group, "Arab countries would have been encircled by ISIL, and no
one would have known what al-Qaeda would be doing in Afghanistan.”
He said Iran was present wherever it was necessary to help restore stability.
"Over the recent years, wherever they planted terrorism to disrupt the region,
the country that was present on the battlefield against terror was the Islamic
Republic of Iran,” he said.
Pointing to the anti-Iran rhetoric by the US officials, Jahangiri said, "These
accusations against Iran have become [mere] rehashes, and even the accuser is
ashamed of making the claim that Iran is a state sponsor of terrorism.”
The senior Iranian official said the accusations are meant to slow down Iran’s
progress by dissuading domestic and foreign investors.
On Friday, the US administration also imposed new sanctions against Iran over a
recent missile test by the Islamic Republic and its "continued support for
terrorism.”
Jahangiri said the parties imposing the sanctions on Iran have witnessed the
difference between when they impose bans and when they engage in interaction
with the Islamic Republic.
"If a language of respect is used to talk to the Iranian nation and if issues
are resolved through dialog and negotiation, then, as stated by President
[Hassan Rouhani], the outcome could be a win for all.”
Source: Press TV