Iran condemns litany of hostile US actions, calls out Washington's hypocrisy

The Iranian Foreign Ministry has released a fact sheet featuring the United States long list of historically hostile actions towards the Islamic Republic, denouncing Washington’s hypocritical approach towards the country.

The ministry released the fact sheet, which included a whole host of US violations concerning Iran, such as its reinstatement of its so-called “maximum pressure” policy towards the Islamic Republic, on Wednesday.

The US initiated the policy under Donald Trump’s former tenure as president and relaunched it under his current incumbency, with the American chief executive signing a new “Presidential National Security Memorandum” on February 4, through which he ordered intensification of economic and political pressure against the Islamic Republic.

The ministry described the policy as an extension of Washington’s long-standing adversarial attitude towards Tehran.

‘No talks under pressure’: FM hails Leader’s wise stance on negotiations

Araghchi emphasizes that Iran would never engage in negotiations under pressure as per the Leader’s relevant stance.

It, meanwhile, asserted that “maximum pressure” was never truly halted after Trump’s former term wound down, as the previous US administration of Joe Biden not only retained the country’s sanctions against Iran, but also imposed hundreds more.

The ministry reiterated the Islamic Republic’s commitment to resisting such coercive measures, emphasizing that no nation should be subjected to illegal and unjust economic pressure.

Iran to activate 1000s of advanced centrifuges in response to IAEA resolution: Araghchi

Iran says it is to activate thousands of its advanced centrifuges in response to the IAEA

‘Dual approach exposes US hypocrisy’

The US was deploying the policy, while simultaneously calling for negotiations with Iran on the nuclear issue, the ministry said, noting that such attitude contradicted Washington’s rhetoric.

Iran underlines that it has always supported diplomacy and engaged in negotiations in good faith. However, it reminds at the same time that pressure and intimidation tactics have never yielded results as far as dealing with the Islamic Republic is concerned.

Iranian authorities, meanwhile, warn that such contradictory approach only deepens distrust and undermines any possibility of meaningful diplomatic engagement.

US’s breach of nuclear deal

The fact sheet further highlighted the United States track record regarding the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), an agreement backed by the United Nations Security Council (UNSC), which was signed between Iran and world countries, including the US, in 2015.

The former Trump administration withdrew from the deal in 2018 in a unilateral and illegal move, despite its endorsement by the UNSC. It then returned the sanctions that the accord had lifted, and ramped up even more economic pressure on the Islamic Republic.

Washington's departure came despite Iran’s full compliance with the agreement as confirmed by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), the document highlighted.

“Over the past four years, despite intensive negotiations to revive the JCPOA, Washington, while expressing a desire to return to the agreement, has never been willing to fulfill its JCPOA commitments or lift sanctions against the Iranian nation, and under various pretexts, it prevented, on different occasions, the negotiations from reaching a final conclusion,” it added.

Historical US hostility towards Iran

The document also recalled the long history of other aggressive American actions against Iran, dating back to the CIA-orchestrated 1953 coup.

It listed numerous examples, including Washington’s military support and other instances of backing for former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein during his 1980-88 imposed war on Iran, freezing of Iranian assets, and military provocations.

It also reminded the US’s ordering the assassination of Lieutenant General Qassem Soleimani, Iran’s former top anti-terror commander and a strongly revered national and regional personality, in early 2020, and its facilitating the targeting of Iranian nuclear scientists by the Israeli regime -- which has so far assassinated at least seven of the scientists.

Washington’s role in regional instability

Additionally, the fact sheet challenged US allegations that Iran supported “terrorism,” asserting that the Islamic Republic was, in fact, the primary victim of terrorism in the region.

It pointed to the sacrifices that had been made by Iranian servicemen in the fight against the Daesh Takfiri terrorist group in the region and other similar outfits.

Meanwhile, the ministry reiterated Iran’s condemnation of the US’s fueling regional instability by backing groups like Daesh, al-Qaeda, and al-Nusra Front, currently Hay’at Tahrir al-Sham, to serve its geopolitical interests.

Furthermore, the statement argued that Washington would try to brand Iran’s continued support for regional resistance movements, which fight against deadly Israeli occupation and aggression, as fostering “terrorism” as a pretext to shield the Israeli regime from accountability for its atrocities against the regional peoples, including members of the resistance factions.

“Labeling Iran's support for resistance groups and Muslim nations in the region - who are fighting for the liberation of their land and human dignity against an occupying regime - as "support for terrorism" does not change the reality,” it underlined.

“Blaming the Islamic Republic of Iran, is a futile US attempt to protect the Zionist regime from accountability and to evade from US responsibility for full-fledged and absolute support for the crimes of this regime,” it added, pointing to Washington’s all-out political, military, and intelligence support for Tel Aviv’s military aggression.

US human rights violations, economic warfare

The ministry also condemned Washington’s claims of championing human rights, highlighting its full support for Israeli atrocities in the Gaza Strip and the devastation that had been caused by economic sanctions on the Iranian people.

It reminded that during the COVID-19 pandemic, the US even intensified its sanctions, worsening humanitarian conditions in Iran, and asserted that the American policies directly targeted the Iranian people, contradicting Washington’s self-proclaimed concern for human rights.

Iran’s response: Diplomacy with strength, dignity

Amid the American attitude, Iran’s leadership, guided by the principles of “dignity, wisdom, and expediency,” would refuse to negotiate under pressure, the document underscored.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei has reiterated that engaging in talks under coercion was irrational and would undermine Iran’s sovereignty.

Leader: Negotiations with US have no effect on solving problems

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei says experience has shown that negotiations with the US have no effect on solving Iran

Tehran, however, remains open to diplomacy that safeguards its national interests.

While committed to diplomatic solutions, Iran warns that any aggression against its national security would be met with a decisive response, the ministry stressed, pledging to continue pursuing the Islamic Republic’s interests from a position of strength, and ensuring that the country’s sovereignty and regional stability remained non-negotiable.

The ministry finally reaffirmed that Iran has never pursued acquiring nuclear weapons, citing a binding religious decree (fatwa) against such prospect that had been issued by the Leader.

It called on the US, the only country to have ever deployed nuclear weapons, to refrain from using the nuclear issue as an excuse for confrontation.

Press TV’s website can also be accessed at the following alternate addresses:

www.presstv.co.uk