Iran releases fact sheet on US’ hostile actions

According to The Iran Project, The full text of the fact sheet, released on February 12, is as follows:

In the Name of God, the Companionate, the Merciful

On 4 February 2025, the US President signed a "Presidential National Security Memorandum", ordering restore of the failed policy known as "Maximum Pressure" against the Iranian nation.

The US government claims to be reinstating Maximum Pressure, but in reality, Maximum Pressure was never halted to be revived again. The previous US administration did not remove a single sanction imposed in the past and, by its own admission, added hundreds more to the previous sanctions. The Islamic Republic of Iran has demonstrated that it has responded and will respond to Maximum Pressure with Maximum Resistance and firmly believes that no nation should be subjected to unfair pressure and illegal sanctions.

The Hypocritical Approach of the United States

While signing the Memorandum to restore the so-called Maximum Pressure, the US President spoke of his desire for dialogue and deal with Iran on the nuclear issue. However, as the Esteemed President of Iran has stated, the document includes "all possible conspiracies" to confront Iran and intensify pressure on the Iranian people.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, consistent with its principled approach, has always supported diplomatic solutions to various matters, including the nuclear issue, and over the past two decades, has proven its commitment to diplomacy and the solutions derived from it.

At the same time, historical evidence shows that the Iranian nation has never accepted negotiations under pressure, and unilateral conditions, intimidation, and threats against the Islamic Republic of Iran have never worked and they will not. The simultaneous issuance of an order to intensify pressure on the Iranian people and the expression of a desire for dialogue and deal, only highlights the continuation of the hypocritical approach that has long been the policy of US administrations toward Iran. Washington's insistence on this dual approach not only won’t contribute to resolving issues but also deepens distrust toward the US intentions and policies.

The US Record on the JCPOA

The US government expresses a desire for dialogue and deal with Iran while repeatedly failing to uphold its commitments, particularly regarding the JCPOA; an agreement endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. Today, the US President speaks of dialogue and deal, yet in 2018, he himself unilaterally decided to withdraw the US from the JCPOA and imposed the harshest pressures on the Iranian nation. That decision was made while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) was confirming that Iran was in full compliance with its extensive nuclear commitments.

Even before that, the US failure to fully and precisely implement its commitments prevented the Islamic Republic of Iran from fully benefiting from the lifting of sanctions as envisioned in the JCPOA. Despite this fact, Iran, in line with its longstanding commitment to diplomacy, continued to fully implement its commitments for a full year after the US withdrawal from the JCPOA. Ultimately, Iran, according to its rights under the JCPOA, took a series of remedial measures in the nuclear field and ceased to perform the measures outlined in the agreement in an effort to revive diplomacy.

Over the past four years, despite intensive negotiations to revive the JCPOA, Washington, while expressing a desire to return to the agreement, has never been willing to fulfill its JCPOA commitments or lift sanctions against the Iranian nation, and under various pretexts, it prevented on different occasions, the negotiations from reaching a final conclusion.

In fact, the experience of the JCPOA can be described as a perfect reflection of the US dual approach toward Iran. The Islamic Republic of Iran's stance toward the current dual approach of the US is rooted in this historical experience.

The Historical Record of US Actions Toward Iran

The history of US government behavior toward the great nation and government of Iran is filled with distrust stemming from a continued approach of arrogance, threats, intimidation, repeated interference in internal affairs, encroachment on national resources and wealth under various pretexts, depriving the Iranian nation of normal trade opportunities through sanctions, imposing war, resorting to various forms of terrorism, especially economic terrorism, adventurous actions, and many other inhumane and oppressive measures. These actions are incompatible with any human standards and international laws and regulations.

The US orchestration of a coup against Iran's legitimate government on 19 August 1953; the freezing of all Iranian assets in the early days of the Islamic Revolution; intelligence, security, and logistical support for Saddam's Ba'ath regime during the eight-year imposed war; attacks on oil platforms; targeting the Iranian passenger plane; removing the MEK terrorist cult from the list of terrorist organizations; intimidating and threatening Iranians through detention and extradition to the US; withdrawal from the nuclear agreement; ordering and implementing the assassination of the national hero of the fight against terrorism, Martyr General Qassem Soleimani; imposing extraterritorial sanctions and extensively targeting Iranian citizens through these sanctions; and involvement in the assassination of Iranian nuclear scientists through support for the Zionist regime, are just some examples of these hostile actions and behaviors. As history attests, the current state of US-Iran relations is the result of a series of hostile actions that Washington has pursued against the Iranian nation for nearly a century. Washington cannot change historical realities by accusing Iran and portraying Iran as responsible.

The US Record in Supporting Terrorism and Instability in the Region

The US accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of supporting terrorism, while Iran itself is the greatest victim of terrorism in the world, and no country has fought against this evil phenomenon in the West Asia as much as the Iranian nation and its military forces. Iran has sacrificed many precious lives in support and defense of the nations of the region against violent and rampant terrorism and has always prioritized peace and stability in the region in its regional policies. On the other hand, within the country, various terrorist groups created with the support of the US and some other countries have taken the lives of over 23,000 innocent people.

Despite its claims of fighting terrorism, the US has in fact been the main instigator, supporter, and agent for the spread of terrorism and instability in the West Asia region. As the current US President has repeatedly admitted, US military campaigns in the region under the pretext of the "War on Terrorism," whether in Iraq or Afghanistan, have achieved nothing but instability and the growth of terrorist groups.

The US must answer the question, not as a plaintiff but as the accused, on who has been responsible for the formation of terrorist groups and the provision of financial funds and military supports to dangerous groups like Al-Qaeda, ISIS, and Al-Nusra over the past decades. The US has shown that it views terrorist groups as tools to advance its own goals and policies against countries, including in the region.

Labeling Iran's support for resistance groups and Muslim nations in the region - who are fighting for the liberation of their land and human dignity against an occupying regime - as "support for terrorism" does not change the reality. Blaming the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a futile US attempt to protect the Zionist regime from accountability and to evade from US responsibility for full-fledged and absolute support for the crimes of this regime.

US Human Rights Claims

While the US accuses the Islamic Republic of Iran of human rights violations, it has not only turned a blind eye to the genocide and war crimes of the Zionist regime in Gaza but has fully supported these atrocities. Now, it is using the destruction caused by the criminal attacks of the Zionist regime as a pretext for the forced displacement of the Palestinians from the Strip and the seizure of their lands.

The claim of supporting the Iranian people and human rights comes while Washington has for years directly targeted the economy and welfare of the Iranian nation through the harshest sanctions, and boasting the economic pressure on the Iranian people as an achievement of the first round of the "Maximum Pressure Campaign." It is an undeniable fact that at the time when the Iranian people were copping with the COVID-19 pandemic, the

US government, intensified economic pressure on the Iranian nation, disregarding the humanitarian consequences of sanctions. According to international reports, US sanctions have not only targeted Iran's economy but also fundamental right to life of the Iranians, in a way that many lives were lost due to the restrictions imposed by the cruel sanctions.

With such a record, the US cannot position itself to criticize or raise claims in the field of human rights. It is no secret that Washington's human rights claims are nothing but an attempt to increase pressure on the very nation that it claims to be concerned about, which is another sign of the US hypocritical approach toward Iran.

The Policy of Global Destabilization

While the US describes itself as a supporter of the so-called rules-based international order and always speaks of the need to adhere to international laws, this country has at various times acted contrary to international rules and taken steps to spread global instability.

Although the US has always hidden its violations of international laws and norms behind seemingly justifiable rhetoric such as human rights and the fight against terrorism, today it has abandoned these pretenses and openly embraced imperialist and colonialist language, not hiding its intentions to usurp the lands of others, whether in Europe, West Asia, or Latin America.

In fact, today the US has become the main source for lawlessness and violation of the recognized international rules and principles including territorial integrity and national sovereignty. The US approach toward the Islamic Republic of Iran cannot be separated from this colonial mindset and policy.

Rationality, Wisdom, and Dignity

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution, relying on historical "experience" and the record of US government actions, has deemed negotiations with the US under today's conditions contrary to "rationality, wisdom, and dignity." Iran has never shied away from dialogue and has not left the negotiations table; but, is it dignified and rational to negotiate under Maximum Pressure and threats? It should not be forgotten that it was the US that withdrew from a negotiated multilateral document and left the negotiations table. And again, the US, while alleging readiness for negotiation, is repeating the same policy by resorting to the ineffective approach of Maximum Pressure. In this context, the Islamic Republic of Iran, while adhering to the three principles of "dignity, wisdom, and expediency" in its foreign policy, believes that negotiations with the US which has explicitly adopted the imposition of extensive pressure on the Iranian nation and explicitly threatens Iran with military action, will not serve Iran's national interests.

The Islamic Republic of Iran, within the framework of its religious and strategic considerations, has never pursued the development of weapons of mass destruction, including nuclear weapons, and the Leader's fatwa in this regard is a clear proof of this commitment. The US, as the only user of nuclear weapons in history, cannot and should not turn the nuclear issue into a pretext for confrontation and pressure on the Iranian nation.

Iran remains committed to finding a diplomatic solution to safeguard the rights of the Iranian nation and lift sanctions and will continue engagement with the relevant parties. At the same time, it will utilize all elements of national power to respond to and counter threats.

The Islamic Republic of Iran cherishes peace and stability in the region and the world, and does not seek to pressure or threaten any side. However, if any party seeks to threaten Iran, it will be responded in kind. The Islamic Republic of Iran will not hesitate to decisively and resolutely respond to any kind of aggression against its national security.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs, in line with the guidance and recommendations of the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, will move forward with open eyes and full understanding of the nature of other parties, and will pursue, from the position of strength, a dignified diplomacy aimed at securing the interests of the great Iranian nation.

Reporter : Editorial of The Iran Project