US after Driving Wedge between Europeans

TEHRAN (defapress)- Iranian Ambassador to Warsaw Massoud Edrisi Kermanshahi said that the US-backed conference against Iran is meant to drive a wedge between European countries, to break apart the bloc’s united support for relations with Tehran.

News ID: 75094

Date: 20 January 2019 - 14:32

Edrisi Kermanshahi said that Washington's holding an anti-Iran session serves as a move to divide and cause a rift between members of the European Union (EU) in the bloc’s policy towards Iran.

The diplomat made the remarks on Saturday in an interview with the Islamic Republic News Agency (IRNA).

He warned that the move could have a negative effect on relations between the two countries.

He outlined the goals of the United States to hold the summit hosted by Poland, and reiterated, “So doing, and through so-called putting this new Europe vis-à-vis old Europe, America is trying to harm the ties and efforts the European Union is making to maintain relations with Iran.”

Referring to the unilateral withdrawal of the US President Donald Trump's government from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), the Iranian diplomat added, “After leaving the JCPOA, the government of Trump has been trying to make other countries of the world, especially the European countries, accompany the decision, but has not succeeded so far; so, efforts to hold Warsaw summit can be regarded as a measure to make the gap between the European Union and Iran.”

“On the one hand, traditional Europe, notably Germany, France and Britain, do not agree with the withdrawal of America from the JCPOA and support the nuclear deal with Iran, and on the other hand, countries like Poland, which exposes its name as one of the most important actors and a member of the European Union, seek to be reputed as a key player in European Union; Following the US policies, they seek to gain a standing in Europe,” Edrisi Kermanshahi emphasized.

“However,” he said, “I do not believe that traditional Europe is going to be marginalized, and there are such countries in the EU as Poland that have nothing to offer.”

To a question on his recent meeting with the deputy foreign minister of Poland and the points raised in the meeting, the Iranian ambassador stated that he had frankly announced that holding the conference with Polish government as the host was contrary to Iran's national security and, as a result, it is considered a hostile act against Iran.

In a related front, Former Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Kamal Kharrazi warned that the US pressures on Iran to surrender to Washington's demands are also aimed at sowing discord among the European states.

"US President Trump's objective is not just exerting pressure on Iran but he is pursuing weakening and disintegration of Europe also," said Kharrazi, who is currently the head of Iran's Strategic Foreign Relations Council, in a meeting with a number of Italian academics in Tehran on Saturday.

He also referred to the US-sponsored anti-Iran conference due to be held in Poland next month, and said the meeting is also aimed at creating a rift among the EU members.

Kharrazi warned that if Europe gives in to the US pressures, Washington will further become emboldened to exert more pressures, saying that the European states' interests necessitate them to adopt practical measures to implement the 2015 nuclear deal with Tehran.

US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told Fox News that Washington would jointly host a global summit focused on Iran and the Middle East next month in Poland.

The international gathering will take place in Warsaw from February 13 to 14, the US State Department said in a statement.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif lashed out at the anti-Iran conference, describing it as a “desperate circus” that will disgrace the participants.

“Reminder to host/participants of anti-Iran conference: those who attended last US anti-Iran show are either dead, disgraced, or marginalized. And Iran is stronger than ever,” Zarif said in a tweet last week.

Zarif also strongly criticized the Polish government for hosting the conference, reminding Warsaw of thousands of Polish refugees saved by Iran during the Second World War.

“Polish Govt. can't wash the shame: while Iran saved Poles in WWII, it now hosts desperate anti-Iran circus,” he went on to say.

Also, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Shamkhani underlined that the anti-Tehran conference indicated that the US sanctions against Iran had yielded no results.

"Turning sanctions with utmost pressures into seminar and congress means that you are empty-handed‌," Shamkhani told reporters in Tehran last Saturday.

His remarks alluded to the US administration's attempts to put utmost pressures on Iran through sanctions.

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