Iran Press/ Iran News: At the beginning of his press conference, Iran's Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi congratulated the National Commemoration Day of Saadi Shirazi saying, "In the midst of the medical issues that the world is facing these days, diplomacy continues. Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and the President of Iran Hassan Rouhani have had many contacts with their counterparts. Also, there are other programs on the agenda of our country's officials that have been informed and some of them are being implemented; in this regard, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has made 14 phone calls to officials and political figures around the world."
Foreign troops must leave the region
Foreign Ministry spokesman in a video conferencing and answering to Iran Press question regarding "What is Iran's response to the US military presence in the Persian Gulf and recent tensions between Iran and the US, said, "The Iranian armed forces are to patrol the region and the Persian Gulf, and these developments must take place calmly. As far as we know, the American forces prevented the normal and lawful patrol of the Iranian forces, and this has caused the Iranian forces to give them the necessary warnings."
Mousavi further stressed the need for foreign troops to leave the Persian Gulf region, adding, "Iran has been present in this region for thousands of years and the security of this region is in the hands of Iran and its neighbors, especially Oman, which is in the opposite side of the Strait of Hormuz. We are responsible for the vital strait of the world."
"As the IRGC said in a statement, foreign forces that are illegally present in the region should withdraw, and secondly, observe maritime commute regulations and not force our army to react, we are dissatisfied with their entry into the region and we hope they leave our area as soon as possible," Mousavi concluded.
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Iran wants a safe, stable Afghanistan
Talking about the situation in Afghanistan and Iran's efforts to resolve Afghanistan's problems, the Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said: "As a neighboring country, Iran wants Afghanistan to be safe, calm and stable along our eastern borders."
"The post-election political disputes in Afghanistan have prompted Iran to take action as a permanent friend of Afghanistan. Iran's Foreign Minister Zarif had contacts with Afghan officials, and the deputy foreign minister for Afghanistan affairs has made several trips to Afghanistan, where he met with senior Afghan officials", the spokesman stated.
Zarif in Syria
Mousavi also spoke about Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif's visit to Syria, saying that during Zarif's visit to Damascus, a wide range of issues will be raised and this trip was needed, and the trip was recently scheduled. Zarif will discuss developments in the region and inside Syria in their fight against terrorism.
He added, "Zarif left Iran for Damascus today and will meet with Syrian officials, especially Bashar al-Assad. This trip was a necessary trip that took place at the right time. I hope that this trip will have good results. We have to wait and talk about the results when it ends."
He added, "The Astana process, as the most important political process that may lead to better conditions in the current situation, is still on the agenda of member states, including Iran. We were supposed to have a summit meeting in Tehran, but this was postponed due to Coronavirus, but that does not mean our consultations and cooperation in this regard will be disrupted. This trip was necessary for this situation and I hope it will lead to good results."
INSTEX is necessary to fulfill Europe's commitments, but it is not the whole
In response to a question about Europe's commitments, Foreign Ministry Spokesman said, "INSTEX is a prerequisite for fulfilling other commitments that Europeans made to Iran after the illegal withdrawal of the United States from the JCPOA, and they stated that they needed a financial mechanism to fulfill their obligations. We welcome the launch of this financial channel, but we have stated that this is not all the commitments of the Europeans, and they must fulfill all the 11 commitments, including in the field of transportation, insurance energy, and so on."
Mousavi also reacted to the US officials' efforts to extend Iran's arms embargo saying, "I advise Americans if they are concerned about of arms stockpile they must stop selling, the madly and greedily sale of all kinds of deadly weapons to countries in the region and the world that have resulted in nothing but instability and fratricide.
Mousavi continued to say: "This is one of the wonders and the interesting humor of the times that the law-breaking government that violated the JCPOA and violated Security Council Resolution 2231 is still pursuing its provisions and continues to violate it and compels others to move forward in the same track."
He added, "With these actions, the Americans want to divert the world's public opinion from economic terrorism against the Iranian people."
The spokesman said there was no reason for the Security Council to violate UNSCR 2231, and that the US request of others was "illegal".
Coronavirus a bed to broaden cooperation in the region
Regarding the regional cooperation between Iran and the PGCC member states in the current situation, the spokesman said, "Among the good things and opportunities that Coronavirus has had along with the threats against us in the world, are the approaches and the views of different countries to each other. Iran is always ready to interact and talk closely with its neighbors in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf. In any case, we have announced and presented many plans and initiatives in this field, and without preconditions, we are ready to talk to friends in the region." Mousavi underscored.
"If the countries of the Persian Gulf, especially one or two countries that are a little more misunderstood, are ready, Iran is ready to enter into dialogue and interaction with these brothers at any level and in any situation that requires this time, which we hope to happen," he highlighted.
Mousavi also rejected that Coronavirus is produced from a laboratory in Wuhan, calling this politicizing the Corona issue by the US.
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