G7, NATO in No Position to Preach to Iran, Spokesman Says
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesperson Saeed Khatibzadeh pointed to the “disastrous” record of NATO and the Group Seven in the Middle East region, saying they are in no position to preach to Iran which is perceived as the anchor of regional peace.
In a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday, Khatibzadeh deplored the final communiqué issued on Monday by the heads of state and governments participating in the meeting of the North Atlantic Council in Brussels and a Sunday communiqué by the G7 summit.
“W/ a disastrous record in our region, NATO & G7 have no high ground to preach from—particularly to Iran as an anchor of peace & security in the region,” he said.
The spokesman added that “equating aggrieved and spoiler” is only an indicative of a “flawed and politicized approach.”
Khatibzadeh advised the G7 and NATO leaders to avoid lecturing others and abide by international law instead, alluding to the fact that both international bodies have on frequent occasions violated established norms of international law through interference in other countries' affairs, especially with regard to Iran's nuclear program and its regional influence in West Asia. Press TV reported.
Both bodies demanded Iran in their final statements to scrap its totally peaceful and defensive missile program, ignoring the fact that Iran has announced time and again that the country’s defense program will never be up for any negotiations.
Both the G7 and NATO leaders claimed that they are committed to “ensuring that Iran will never develop a nuclear weapon.”
They also emphasized that the restoration and full implementation of the landmark nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), between Iran and world powers would help all parties to address regional and security concerns. They welcomed “the substantive discussions between JCPOA participants” in the Austrian capital, Vienna, in which the US is also indirectly involved, which aim to “accomplish a return of the United States and Iran to their JCPOA commitments.”
