Iran Dismisses Tillerson’s Claim of Destabilizing Role

Date: 06 December 2017 - 23:24

News ID: ۴۷۲۲۳

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran's foreign ministry denied on Wednesday U.S. accusations that the Islamic Republic is playing a destabilizing role in the region, state media reported.
U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson had said on Tuesday that Iran was carrying out "destabilizing actions" by supporting Hezbollah in Lebanon, supplying missiles to Houthi forces in Yemen and sending weapons and militia fighters to Syria.
"Repeating the groundless accusations and lies will not help solve the large and strategic mistakes America has made in recent decades against Iran and the region," Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Qasemi said.
"While there's time remaining, Mr. Tillerson should become more familiar with the realities and history of the region and American policies, and its effects which has led to serious instability and the deaths of hundreds of thousands of innocent women, children and people."
Tillerson also said during a visit to Brussels on Tuesday that Iran must comply with the terms of the 2015 nuclear deal under which the Islamic Republic agreed to curbs on its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of a number of sanctions.
U.S. president Donald Trump dealt a blow to the pact in October by refusing to certify that Tehran was complying with the accord even though international inspectors said it was.

Travel Ban ‘Sad’

Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif slammed the U.S. travel ban on travelers from six mainly Muslim countries.
"U.S. Supreme Court defends and allows Trump’s #MuslimBan to go into full effect, giving bigotry full license in USA. Sad!” he wrote.
He expressed regret that the court's move gives "bigotry full license in USA."
His tweet came in response to a U.S. Supreme Court ruling that the government could fully enforce a revised ban on travelers from Chad, Iran, Libya, Somalia, Syria and Yemen pending appeal, backing U.S. President Donald Trump in the year-long battle over the controversial measure.
Trump has battled to implement a travel ban since just after he became president on January 20, after having repeatedly promised during last year’s election campaign to ban all Muslims from entering the United States.
Those promises have undermined the administration’s argument in a series of court challenges that its policy is not Muslim-focused but rather based on security needs.
Immigration and civil rights activists maintain it still essentially targets Muslims, which would violate the U.S. Constitution’s guarantees of religious rights.