‘Grow a Spine’ in Response to US Bullying: Iranian Spokesman Tells EU
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh called on the European Union to “grow a spine” in response to US bullying.
“Don’t mean to interrupt anyone’s honeymoon, but it sounds like Pompeo-style US ‘diplomacy’ is here to stay,” Khatibzadeh wrote in a tweet on Thursday evening.
“Should be yet another wake-up call: US’ high-handed treatment of others, didn’t start with Trump & won’t end after him,” Khatibzadeh said. “Friendly advice to the E3/EU: Grow a spine.”
Khatibzadeh was hinting at recent remarks by US Secretary of State Antony Blinken, who threatened any entity involved in Russia's Nord Stream 2 pipeline with sanctions.
“The Biden administration has made clear (Russia-EU) Nord Stream 2 is a bad deal,” Blinken said via Twitter on March 18. “We continue to monitor activity and warn any entity involved in the Nord Stream 2 pipeline will risk sanctions.”
He added that the Biden administration remains committed to complying with the congressional legislation in this regard.
Khatibzadeh’s criticism of the so-called E3, which includes France, Britain and Germany, was also directed at the three countries’ inaction in the face of the United States’ withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, also called the JCPOA, under the Trump administration.
Since the US withdrawal, Iran has repeatedly criticized the E3 for failing to protect its interests under the JCPOA. In the last two months, Tehran has criticized the Biden administration and the E3 for failing to revive the nuclear deal and lift the Trump-era sanctions on the Islamic Republic.