Iran says US must halt illusion of leverage for exerting pressure

Khatibzadeh, in response to a question about the remarks of a Turkish official regarding the origin of fine dust and Iran's absence from the Convention on Dust in Ivory Coast, said: "Iran is one of the founders of the Working Group on Combating Dust. Iran has been present both in the meetings held in previous years and in the meetings held at the FAO. Haw Iran's views are conveyed and documented in international forums are recorded. Exaggerating the positions of countries other than Iran does not help the core issue. Iran has tried to resolve this issue with a regional approach. There has been mismanagement of water and dams in the upstream rivers. A common answer is needed and should be pursued in a non-political environment."

The spokesman regarding recent trips to Iran noted: "Last week, FM Amir Abdollahian paid a visit to India. In addition to meeting with the Prime Minister, Foreign Minister and National Security Advisor of India, he met with Iranians and businessmen in Hyderabad, Mumbai and New Delhi. Three agreements and memoranda of understanding were signed during the trip to pursue what is being called regional diplomacy.

The Foreign Ministry spokesman also referred to Venezuelan President Maduro's visit and said: "Tomorrow, Pakistan's Foreign Minister will be in Tehran. The President of Turkmenistan is coming to Iran. The Speaker of the Armenian Parliament is leaving for Iran this week. Amir Abdollahian's travels will be followed next week."

In response to a question about IAEA Director-General Grossi's visit to the occupied territories, he said: "We are facing a rebel regime in the region, which for more than seven decades has brought the most persistent terrorist, belligerent, lawless behavior to the forefront in the international system. The regime has spared no effort to ridicule the structures of international law and has done so with a white check signed by some countries. It is unfortunate that the Director-General of the IAEA, as the Agency's agent, provides this structure to such an illegal regime. That is, he has ridiculed and challenged the structure by the agent. I think the message of this trip is as clear as any other non-diplomatic move. The Director-General should be concerned about impartiality and independence. According to the statute of the agency, he had a definite duty and met the wrong people at the wrong time and place. We have given the answer and we hope that the procedure will be corrected."

Regarding the resolution issued against Iran in the IAEA Board of Governors, he said: "It was a completely political and planned action. It disrupted the path defined between Iran and the IAEA, and according to a joint statement agreed between Iran and the IAEA on March 6, there were reciprocal moves. Certainly we could not leave this non-technical political action unanswered and we carried out our actions. The actions were decisive and proportionate. However, they say that the resolution was a recommendation. If there was no need to implement the resolution, they should have taken another path."

The spokesman of Iran's ministry of foreign Affairs stressed that US should stop the illusion of unilateral leverage for exerting pressure on Iran and then the JCOPA would be finalized.

Speaking at his weekly Presser on Monday, Khatibzadeh said that Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action(JCPOA) is within reach and possible.
However; he stressed that the US should stop the illusion of unilateral leverage for exerting pressure on Iran.
"If they accept to return to their obligations under JCPOA and UNSCR 2231, we can go to Vienna the next day and finalize the agreement. " stressed Khatibzadeh.

He also said that the Minister of Foreign affairs is scheduled to depart for Africa soon.
Khatibzadeh elsewhere said that the change in the IAEA's approach, which led to the adoption of the resolution of the Board of Governors against Iran, was politicized and pre-fabricated, which disrupted the path defined between Iran and the IAEA.

Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson also noted no aircraft belonging to Iranian airliners has been seized.

Responding to Iran Press' question on the matter that the Argentine government had confiscated a Boeing 747 belonging to Iran's Mahan Air, which was leased by the Venezuelan state-owned Conviasa Airline, at Buenos Aires Airport, Saeed Khatibzadeh pointed out that the intention behind the matter was to fabricate news and carry out psychological operations to manipulate people's minds and evoke a sense of insecurity.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman noted that according to Mahan Airlines, the plane had been owned by a Venezuelan company for a year and was not leased to the airline, and its crew was of foreign nationals.
He added that the issue has nothing to do with Mahan Airlines and should be pursued in another framework.