Iran Press/America: Iran's ambassador to the United Nations Majid Takht Ravanchi on Tuesday said "Iran is in the Persian Gulf area, we are not in the Gulf of Mexico" in response to CNN's "New Day" anchor asking about US president Donald Trump's recent remarks.
On Monday, Trump told reporters he'll see what happens with Iran: "If they do anything, they will suffer greatly," he said.
"I don't know. You should ask him," Ravanchi said. "Iran is having great relations with the neighbours. Iran is in the Persian Gulf area. We are not in the Gulf of Mexico. So these questions should be directed to those people who have come to our neighbourhood from thousands of miles away. So we are there. We are protecting our interests in our neighbourhood, and we are protecting the safety and security of the Persian Gulf area."
Iran does not accept dialogue based on coercion
"You know, the policy of maximum pressure and the offer of dialogue are mutually exclusive," Ravanchi said. "They cannot expect Iran to accept an offer under pressure. Why? The policy of maximum pressure is creating problems for the Iranian people. We can't accept a dialogue based on coercion, based on intimidation and threats." Iran ambassador answer the question about if Iranian leaders would be willing to speak to Trump.
Nuclear Weapons Are 'Against Our Religion'
Asked whether Iran wants nuclear weapon Ravanchi replied "No. Because it is against our religion. Our Leader has made an edict on prohibition of nuclear weapons. Besides, nuclear weapons are not within the defense structure of Iran.
On Tuesday, Ravanchi dismissed the perceived threat from Iran as "fake intelligence based on certain narrow-minded agenda, as I said, pursued by certain people in Washington, as well as in our region. They are making up these allegations in order to create fake stories."
Ravanchi also dismissed a New York Times report saying that National Security Adviser John Bolton directed Acting Defense Secretary Pat Shanahan to produce a plan to send up to 120,000 US troops to the Middle East in case Iran attacks American troops or interests in the region or resumes its work on nuclear weapons, saying: "These are all psychological warfare, in our opinion. We are not in the business of trying to create a conflict in our neighbourhood. Because nobody is going to benefit from such a conflict in our region, except for a few, as I explained earlier, some people in Washington and some countries in our neighbourhood.
208/211/103
Read more:
Bolton threatens Iran by sending Navy strike group to Middle East
Iranian parliamentarian: the US aims at waging anti-Iran psychological warfare
Top IRGC Commander: Dispatch of the carrier strike group to the Middle East, psychological warfare
Iran parliament speaker: the US ban on Iran oil just a psychological operation
