Veep fires back at Trump’s contradictory remarks

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian First Vice-President Es’haq Jahangiri said that US claims on being ready to talk with Iran and on the other hand, sending military forces to the region, are contradictory.

News ID: 77574

Date: 28 May 2019 - 12:48

“Americans are saying contradictory words both when they threaten Iran, by displaying their military power and sending aircraft carriers to the region, and when they talk about negotiations,” said Jahangiri in a local event on Friday night.

Iran and six major world powers reached an agreement in 2015, verifying that Iran is not after nuclear weapons, he noted, adding, “this is while Trump said Friday in Japan that he will open all doors for Iran if Tehran says no to nukes.”

“Our enemy doesn’t understand the structure of Iran’s government. When the Leader of the Islamic Revolution issued a fatwa on banning nuclear weapons … then no individual in the country is allowed to approach nukes,” he highlighted.

He went on to say that the International Atomic Energy Agency has verified Iran’s commitment to the JCPOA in 14 consecutive reports.

“Americans know all these, but they still want to fight with a powerful and historic nation. They will surely live to regret it,” Jahangiri noted.

“We hope that Americans would come to their senses and stop these pressures and let Iran continue on the development path, and we would have a safe region and hold dialogues with regional countries," he added.

In a Friday joint press conference with Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo, US President Donald Trump said that Washington is not after “regime change” in Iran, rather it wants Tehran to stop seeking nuclear weapons. "Iran has tremendous economic potentials. And I look forward to letting them get back to the stage," he added.

Trump withdrew US from Iran nuclear deal, officially known as Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), back in May 2018, re-imposing tough sanctions on Tehran. Other signatories to the deal have vowed to save it through securing Iran’s economic interests; however, no practical measure has been yet adopted to counter US illegal sanctions.

Message end/