“In recent days, we have witnessed intensification of restrictive measures by the US against Iran. On the one hand, they want to impose sanctions against Iran and, on the other hand, they say they are ready for negotiations. Such acts are completely unacceptable,” Mansour Haqiqatpour said on Friday.
He went on to note that the US is trying to make up for its failures in the Middle East by offering talks with the Islamic Republic.
“The US has not only been defeated in the Middle East but it has also went bankrupt and all their plans for Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Afghanistan have [also] ended in failure. Today, Iran is the powerful and victorious side in the Middle East,” said Haqiqatpour, adding that any meeting between the winning and losing sides would benefit the latter.
Speaking at the 49th annual Munich Security Conference in Germany on February 2, US Vice President Joe Biden said Washington was ready to hold direct talks with Iran over the country’s nuclear energy program.
Only four days later, the US government imposed new sanctions on Iran’s energy sector. The sanctions, which took effect on Wednesday, aim to prevent Iran from gaining access to crude exports revenues.
The sanctions require importing countries to hold their payments at home and only release them in return for purchases of goods from them by Iran, to effectively lock up Iranian oil revenues overseas.
“Americans want to create division between the [Iranian] people and officials by bringing up the issue of negotiations. Unfortunately, some people inside the country believe what they (the Americans) say, but one should ask if the Americans are telling the truth why aren’t they taking practical measures to build trust [with Iran]?”
Haqiqatpour pointed out that Washington could build trust by lifting the sanctions on the Central Bank of Iran, [facilitating import of] medicines, and [removing obstacles on the way of Iran] oil sales.
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