Irans Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh
The Foreign Ministry spokesman calls the new US sanctions against Iran the continuation of Washingtons abortive policies concerning the Islamic Republic.
"The Islamic Republic considers the USs new sanctioning efforts to be the continuation of [former US president Donald] Trumps defeated maximum pressure policy," Saeed Khatibzadeh said on Thursday.
The remarks came after the US Treasury Department placed six Iranian persons and one institution on Washingtons sanctions list under the pretext of their trying to impact on the 2020 US presidential elections.
"These are efforts [that are taken] out of desperation," he said, condemning the sanctions an "illegitimate" bid on the part of a country that, itself, tows a longstanding record of interfering in various other nations internal affairs.
Frances interference in IAEAs work
Khatibzadeh separately condemned remarks made by his French counterpart Anne-Claire Legendre, through which she had called on the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to send a "strong message" to Iran and urged that the Islamic Republic return to its nuclear obligations "without delay."
The French officials comments earlier in the day concerned Irans legitimate remedial nuclear steps that the Islamic Republic has been taking in retaliation for counterparty non-commitment to a 2015 nuclear deal between the Islamic Republic and others.
Iran initiated the counter-steps in 2019, after observing a year of strategic patience in the face of the USs withdrawal from the deal, its re-introduction of the sanctions that the agreement had lifted, and others, including France itselfs refusal to object to the sanctions.
Khatibzadeh referred to the French officials remarks as a means of trying to "influence the IAEAs attitude," saying such meddlesome comments only served to "tarnish the agencys reputation as a technical and specialist UN organization."
US, allies anti-Iran statement
Finally, the Iranian official commented on an anti-Iran statement issued on Thursday following a meeting in the Saudi capital Riyadh between the USs point man on Iran, Robert Malley, European envoys, and officials from the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council.
The statement repeated the collective countries Iranophobic remarks concerning the Islamic Republics nuclear work and its regional influence.
Khatibzadeh highlighted the countries own history of regional trouble-making and interference, saying the meeting and its concluding statement was "so factitious and lacking in legitimacy that does not warrant a reaction."
LINK: https://www.ansarpress.com/english/23992
TAGS:
Iran rejects Reuters report on deal in Vienna talks as effort to boost Western sides standing 
