Iran Press/Iran news: In his weekly press conference, the Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Seyyed Abbas Mousavi addressed the questions put to him by reporters and journalists answering all the questions.
America falsely claims freedom of information
According to an Iran Press report, Mousavi said the Americans are making claims about freedom of information, but we don't think these remarks and interventions are for the sake of benevolence and friendship with the Iranian people, rather they are seeking to increase tensions within Iran. They are trying to pressure the Iranian government to achieve their desired goals at the regional level.
He added diplomatic initiatives to counter these pressures and threats are underway. These include legal actions and legal tacts that we will provide to international bodies, and a number of actions will be taken by domestic agencies to counter this malicious behaviour of United States.
Arab League Secretary-General criticizes Yemeni ambassador to Iran
Asked about the Arab League's criticism of the Yemeni ambassador to Iran, Mousavi said: "We do not accept this criticism. Sanaa-based government is legal, has regional and international relations and is an interlocutor to European and United Nations. The Yemeni government has the right to send an ambassador to any country. It appointed the ambassador and the Islamic Republic of Iran accepted and we will behave like a friendly country."
Contradictory remarks by the French Defence Minister
Asked about comments made by the French Defence Minister, Mousavi said: "Europeans are saying things that they don't really adhere to. We can also declare that we are with the Europeans, but in practice, we do anything else. They are actually speech therapists. At the Manama Dialogue, although the French defence minister said that that they were with Iran, she also uttered other irrelevant words that we condemned.
The French official urged America to intervene further in the region that we do not consider to be constructive. The French defense minister says one thing, but their foreign minister says something else in public and private meetings with us.
We hope that they will correct their positions and take a step forward so that we can see positive results in the future.
New US and IAEA policies
Regarding the nuclear issue and the US and the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA ) policy, Mousavi lambasted US policy on Fordow, saying American officials are not in a position to comment on our JCPOA commitments. They withdrew from JCPOA in May 2018 and have no idea what Iran will do with its commitments, but Iran stands by its commitments based on JCPOA and with the IAEA and its inspectors.
Relations between Tehran- Seoul
Mousavi stated South Korea owed Iran some money. The head of the central bank (CBI) went there to use the money we had, to buy medicines and various other items, but after the central bank was sanctioned, South Korea claimed they could not fulfill their obligations. We consider South Korean actions illegal and inhumane, and we expect these actions to be stopped, and the normal business practices, including pharmaceutical exports from companies, will resume.
Iran's Foreign Minister's Spokesperson went on to address each issue which is as follows:
Pence's trip to Erbil
The US Vice President visits Erbil, holds meetings with the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) officials. I don't think that the visit was against Iran because our relations with the Iraqi central government and the KRG, which is part of Iraqi territorial integrity, is very close. There are leaders in the Iraqi central government and KRG who have good relations with Iran. Iran has helped them in tough times. Mike Pence's act was irrelevant and not in conformity with diplomatic etiquette, and Iraqi officials were not happy with Pence's visit since he didn't visit Baghdad, and he did not have meetings with Iraqi government officials.
General Bajwa's visit to Iran
The chief of Pakistani army staff (COAS) General Qamar Javed Bajwa recently visited Tehran. During his trip to Tehran, General Bajwa had high-level meetings with senior Iranian officials on a range of issues including bilateral, regional, border, and the subject of two or three Iranian hostages kidnapped by terrorist groups.
Pakistan is keen on reducing tensions between Islamic countries in the region, so it wants some kind of cooperation and dialogue among influential countries within the region, and Iran has also welcomed its goodwill to reduce tensions and increase the integration of Islamic countries.
US judiciary should not be deceived
US court verdict which sentenced Iran to pay $ 180 million to American spy Jason Rezaian indicates that the US judiciary is deceived. The US court and judicial authorities should know that he was a spy who confessed to spying in Iran for the US but the Islamic Republic of Iran pardoned him. If they want to harm Iran, Iran has its own tools to take retaliatory action.
Foreign intervention in Iran's internal affairs
The spokesman about US officials' interference over the recent unrest noted that "We evaluate their support of unrest as interfering in Iran's internal affairs and within the framework of the maximum pressure policy against Iran. Their assessments of human rights and freedom of speech and internet and … show that facts are different. We do not assess these remarks intended in friendship and benevolence with the Iranian nation but rather to increase tensions within Iran."
"Their strategy is to increase tension and pressure on the people so that people exert pressure on the government", Mousavi added, underling that measures have been taken. Measures are being taken to deal with them both in terms of legal pursuit and documentation, and actions by local relevant departments to deal with these evils.
Mousavi referenced to the US Naval coalition in the Persian Gulf and stated that "We reject and condemn the interference and presence of foreign countries in the region, and we regard it as an increase in tension and insecurity in the region. We have told the countries that security cannot be imported, but it is based on the cooperation of all countries. All countries should contribute to ensuring security. Hormuz Peace Endeavor is in this regard, and we have emphasized that all countries can contribute to this cooperation.
Noting that President Rouhani has addressed directly all countries of the region, the official made the remark, "We have asked the countries to respond to the Iranian peace-seeking intension and renounce illusions," saying that the presence of foreign countries has led to insecurity and instability, and wherever they entered, they have imported instability and insecurity. We hope that Iran's plan will face the positive response of these countries.
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