Iran Press/Iran News: "We must not forget where the root of this disaster was and where it began. It began on the night that the American regime decided to assassinate Lieutenant General Qasem Soleimani and spread the shadow of war over the country and impose a heavy social and political anxiety and pressure on our society," Ali Rabiei said in a press conference on Monday.
"During the mourning for martyr Soleimani by the Iranian people, we saw that Trump, by tweeting in Farsi, shed crocodile tears for our people and claimed to stand by the Iranian people," he added.
"Iranian people do not forget the time that US President immediately threatened to bomb 52 cultural sites after the assassination of their commander and now, by imposing cruel sanctions on Iran, he is the root cause of the social, livelihood, drug, and food problems of the Iranian people," said Rabiei.
Saying that Trump withdraw from Iran Nuclear Deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and turned the hope of the Iranian people into hopelessness, the official noted: "Now he presents himself as the patron of our nation."
Govt. didn't lie on plane crash
In his weekly press conference, Ali Rabiei noted: "In the past week, the Ukrainian plane crash caused the death of 176 passengers and that made us sad."
"Almost three days later, we were informed that the aircraft had been shot down by Iranian defensive fire, and this caused a profound pain on our hearts."
The officials in the country were criticized, he said, adding: "We were accused of lying and secrecy, but it really wasn't. Lie means deliberate fabrication covering up of reality. All those who made comments in those days, at the height of the American psychological war against the Iranian people, were referring to the information available at that moment, and all announcements were rooted in unawareness."
Rabiei went on to say that the President was informed of the results of the investigation on Friday. After that, a session of the Supreme National Security Council was held, which led to the issuance of a statement by the General Staff of the Armed Forces and a statement by the President.
He further apologized to all the Iranian people, public opinion, and journalists, saying that the government decided to conduct thorough investigations into the cause of the mistake.
The Boeing 737-800 plane belonging to Ukraine International Airlines crashed near Tehran just minutes after the plane had taken-off from Imam Khomeini International Airport on Wednesday morning. All the 167 passengers and 9 crew members on board the plane were killed in this tragic incident.
The General Staff of the Armed Forces of the Islamic Republic of Iran said in a statement on Saturday that the Ukrainian passenger plane which crashed was targeted unintentionally in a tragic accident due to human error.
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Talks with US, not possible because of mistrust
The spokesman for the government stressed that we never left 5+1 but rather the US did, adding that Washington has asked to speak directly Iran which is not possible because of mistrust.
The official added that in the current situation, showing weakness would increase the pressure on the people, noting that the government wants to reduce the pressure on the people.
"There is no trust in the President of the United States and no matter how we act, he thinks he can add to the pressure on the Iranian nation. In these circumstances, given that the US is now pressing Iran's throat, the issue of negotiation has no value," concluded Rabiei.
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