IFP- Tehran has blasted the US Secretary of State for using a misnomer to refer to the Persian Gulf, and asked him to increase his knowledge of history.





Iran�s Foreign Ministry Spokesman has taken a swipe at US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson for using a fabricated name to refer to the Persian Gulf.

Speaking at a weekly press conference on Monday, Bahram Qassemi said all US statesmen know what the real name of the Persian Gulf is.

�Tillerson has a background in the field of oil [business], and given the background that American politicians have, the name �Persian Gulf� is known to all of them,� Qassemi said.

�Tillerson probably doesn�t know [the real name of this body of water], and the worst-case scenario would be that he doesn�t know history. I recommend they study history in addition to their oil background, and take a look at the documents and archived papers available at the US State Department, Congress, and European national archives. It wouldn�t be difficult to review history,� the spokesman said.

Qassemi underlined that one cannot buy history, civilization and culture with the greenback, nor is it possible to strip a nation of its culture or provide it with culture by spending dollars.

�I hope in the future they will be careful enough when they use this name, and they should know that this name is sensitive and holy for the Iranian nation,� Qassemi added.

New US Sanctions against Iran Show Lack of Goodwill

Elsewhere in his remarks, the spokesman touched upon Washington�s plan to ratchet up its sanctions against Iran.

He said most policies on sanctions have failed and, hence, are a nonstarter, urging US statesmen not to go for a failed experience again.

�We should wait and see what happens. If the plan receives the nod from the Foreign Relations Committee, it will then be discussed at an open session [of Congress] before going to the president,� he said.

Of course, on numerous occasions, plans have failed to win approval in the middle, he said.

Qassemi said the plan shows a lack of goodwill on the part of Washington, and called on the US not to move forward on that path.

�We urge the US government not to make a mistake again and not go the wrong way,� he stressed.

�At the JCPOA committee, we are monitoring these moves and follow them up and we will take action at any point in time we deem necessary,� Qassemi noted.

�This trend will only create problems and hassles for the US itself,� he said.

US Not Honest in Fight against Terrorists in Mideast

Qassemi further touched upon a recent attack by US-backed militants on the Syrian army and resistance forces.

�America�s actions in Syria are suspicious and unjustifiable,� he said.

�They have said repeatedly that they are fighting terrorists, [�] but we haven�t seen honesty and necessary measures from them,� he said.

He then urged the US to battle ISIS terrorists to help boost stability and security in Syria.

�They should act more responsibly, but, unfortunately, so far they haven�t done so,� he said.