US Proposal for Talks with Iran Deceptive: Defense Minister
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Defense Minister Brigadier General Amir Hatami described a recent claim by some US officials on the country’s readiness to hold unconditional talks with the Islamic Republic as “false, demagogic, and very deceptive”.
“These remarks by the White House officials are false, demagogic, and very deceptive,” Brigadier General Hatami said at a strategic session of the Defense Ministry officials in Tehran on Saturday.
“Because up to now, it (the US) has imposed dozens of conditions and preconditions on our country unilaterally and unlawfully,” he added.
Washington has carried out whatever it had plotted against Tehran, including the economic war, intensifying sanctions and political pressures and has spared no effort to hit and undermine the Islamic Republic, the minister went on to say.
US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said on Sunday that Washington was prepared for unconditional talks with Iran.
The remarks came against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.
Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.