Iran Condemns E3 Statement Blaming Tehran for Aramco Attacks

In a statement on Tuesday, the Iranian Foreign Ministry categorically dismissed the allegations raised by the German, British and French leaders that Iran has been behind the attacks.

Angela Merkel, Emmanuel Macron, and Boris Johnson took the US line on the attacks on Saudi oil facilities, saying in a joint statement after meeting on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, "It is clear for us that Iran bears responsibility for this attack. There is no other explanation."

In response, the Iranian Foreign Ministry said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran strongly condemns and dismisses the irresponsible claims made by the heads of Britain, France and Germany about the attacks by the Yemeni government’s Armed Forces on the Saudi (oil) facilities, and stresses that holding a third-party government accountable for strikes that have occurred during a full-blown war between the Saudi and Yemeni parties and for which the Yemeni side has formally claimed responsibility, is per se a provocative and highly destructive measure, let alone that such a measure has been taken before any investigations, without providing any clue and proof, and has been only based upon the ridiculous justification that ‘There is no other explanation’.”

“Such destructive comments and measures would only fan the devastating flames of war in Yemen and increase the possibility of it becoming more prevalent. The made-to-order accusations against governments with political purposes that are far from the realities on the ground, along with other policies in support of the child-murdering Saudi regime, particularly via the mass export of arms to that country, constitute a dangerous process, the responsibility for whose consequences on regional peace and stability would lie with the three countries that have issued the (anti-Iranian) statement,” it added.

“Moreover, the subjects specified in the statement about the JCPOA and the need for re-negotiations over Iran’s nuclear program, which have been expressed in a more explicit and dangerous manner in UK Prime Minister Boris Johnson’s remarks, are a blatant violation of the text and spirit of the JCPOA and the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. The nuclear deal between Iran and the Group 5+1, as mentioned in its title, is a ‘comprehensive’ agreement that has been negotiated and finalized as a final solution to a fabricated crisis over Iran’s nuclear program. The explicit and detailed timings in the JCPOA are another confirmation of this issue. The JCPOA parties have asserted in this document, which has been also unanimously endorsed by the Security Council, that after the planned period in the JCPOA, Iran’s nuclear program will be treated just like all other members of the NPT (Non-Proliferation Treaty), and the Islamic Republic of Iran will not approve of anything else beyond that,” the Foreign Ministry underlined.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran reaffirms that Iran’s missile and defense program is based upon indigenous capabilities and the policy of deterrence, and commensurate with the existing threats, and that measures to expand it are taken quite responsibly and in compliance with the international law and regulations. The issue of Iran’s missile tests has been settled under the JCPOA and the Security Council Resolution 2231, as it has been repeatedly affirmed by the officials of the negotiating parties, including in the recent comments by the US president, who -albeit in criticism of the JCPOA- has explicitly affirmed that Iran’s ballistic missile tests are ‘allowed’. Iran strongly rejects any launch of negotiations on these subjects,” it added.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has repeatedly emphasized the necessity for regional countries to collaborate in dialogue and interaction for creating mechanisms to promote peace and security in the region and end the Yemen crisis, and once again expresses readiness for this issue, with utmost concern about the humanitarian catastrophes that this war has caused for people of Yemen,” the statement concluded.