Iran Hits Back at New American Schemes:

U.S. Push for Inspections ‘a Ridiculous Dream’

Date: 07 August 2017 - 21:42

News ID: ۴۲۶۰۹

TEHRAN (Dispatches) – Iran on Monday mocked the U.S. push for inspections of the country's military sites, calling it a "ridiculous dream that will never come true."
This comes after U.S. officials said last month that the Trump administration is pushing for inspections of "suspicious” Iranian military sites in a bid to test the strength of the nuclear deal that Tehran struck in 2015 with world powers.
Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi told reporters here that this request is "possibly something that a satirist wrote up."
Commander of the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps Aerospace Force Brigadier General Amir Ali Hajizadeh also said foreign countries will never be allowed to inspect Iran’s military centers.
"The answer is clear: we will not give them such a permission,” he told reporters about U.S. plans to request access to Iran’s military sites.
He warned that the U.S. is seeking to repeat the Libya scenario in Iran, trying to "disarm” Iran with different tactics such as imposing sanctions, mounting pressure and waging psychological warfare.
The inspections are one element of what is designed to be a more aggressive approach by Washington against the Islamic Republic under President Donald Trump.
Trump has repeatedly described the landmark 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers as "bad."
Qasemi said the U.S. dream of dismantling the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers at the expense of Iran will never come true.
"The Islamic Republic will not be the first to violate the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), but we will remain vigilant and take all necessary measures if the U.S. breaches the deal,” he said.
The spokesman said Iran will do what it takes to preserve the JCPOA.
Qasemi said Tehran’s missile program is merely defensive in nature and in no way contravenes United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231.
The missile issue "is none of their business,” he went on to say, referring to U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson’s remarks against Iran’s recent launch of its domestically-manufactured Simorgh satellite carrier.
Resolution 2231 was adopted by the Security Council in July 2015 to endorse the nuclear agreement between Iran and the P5+1 group of world countries.
Since the historic deal was signed in Vienna in July 2015, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has repeatedly confirmed Iran’s compliance with the deal, while the U.S. has not only failed to live up to its commitments but it has also violated the agreement "both in letter and spirit” through imposing new sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Fearing U.S. retaliation, international banks have been refraining from processing Iran-related transactions. Qasemi said certain banking difficulties still exist because of various technical and political reasons.
"Problems with big banks are still there,” he said, adding "active economic diplomacy” is needed to address the issue.