Amirabdollahian: US Politicians Untrustworthy
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The American politicians have proven that they cannot be trusted, Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian said, stressing that the US’ practical measures will be the criterion for any judgement.
“History, experience, and US behavior have shown that American politicians and rulers cannot be trusted,” the Iranian foreign ministers said in a post on his Twitter account on Thursday, as diplomatic negotiations are underway in Vienna to revive the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), bring the US back into compliance with the deal, and get Washington to remove the illegal sanctions.
“For us, the criterion for any judgment will be practical behavior of the United States. On the issue of sanctions removal, Iran's interests must be fully realized and tangible action must be taken on the ground,” Amirabdollahian added.
The Iranian top diplomat's remarks followed media reports denoting that the American officials are seeking direct negotiations with the Iranian delegation over the fate of the 2015 landmark deal, which the US unilaterally left in 2018.
Earlier in the week, Amirabdollahian pointed to the ongoing talks in the Austrian capital for the removal of sanctions imposed on Tehran, saying that there has so far been no direct talks between Iranian and US delegations.
"The American side sends messages in various ways, calling for some degree of direct negotiations with Iran," the top Iranian diplomat said, noting that Tehran is engaged in talks with the P4+1 group of countries and has "non-paper" contacts with the US through Enrique Mora, the European Union’s deputy foreign policy chief and head of the Joint Commission of the JCPOA, and one or two signatories to the deal.
Amirabdollahian also rejected reports about direct talks between Tehran and Washington, Press TV reported.
Ali Shamkhani, the secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council also said in a tweet on Tuesday that “contact with the American delegation in Vienna has been through informal written exchanges, and there was no need, and will be no need, for more contact, so far.”
Iran and the remaining participants to the JCPOA have been holding talks in Vienna since April last year with the aim of reviving the deal by bringing the US into full compliance.