A high-ranking Iranian official has censured the latest anti-Iran statements by US President Barack Obama, arguing that such equivocal comments will prolong the atmosphere of mistrust between the two countries.
“One part of the remarks made by the US president is in contradiction to the principles of the international law and against the spirit of diplomatic negotiations meant to prevent unconstructive slogans and resorting to threats.

Another part results from delusions about Iran’s intentions regarding its presence in diplomatic talks,” Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham said on Monday evening.
She further pointed to disparity in Obama’s comments, underlining that the signature threat of “all options are on the table” has already gone stale and lost its effect on the international stage.

Afkham also reiterated the non-military and peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear energy program.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman added that the Islamic Republic, thanks to safeguarding its legitimate rights on the basis of international conventions, has maintained the structure of its nuclear program and is pursuing peaceful nuclear activities.

Obama told Bloomberg news network on Sunday that 95 percent of the sanctions will remain in place during the course of negotiations between Iran and six world powers over Tehran’s nuclear energy program, adding, “We’re going to enforce them, and we’ve been enforcing them during the course of these discussions.”

The US president also said he believes that when US officials threaten Iran by saying, “all options are on the table,” the Iranians “take it seriously.”

Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council -- the United States, China, Russia, France and Britain -- plus Germany held three days of talks in the Austrian capital, Vienna, which ended on February 20.

The talks in Vienna were follow-up to earlier negotiations in Geneva, which resulted in a landmark interim deal between Iran and the six countries in November 2013. The deal took effect on January 20.

The next round of the talks between Iran and the world powers are to be held in Vienna on March 17.

By Press TV

 

The Iran Project is not responsible for the content of quoted articles.