Tehran warns Europe over support for US economic terrorism against Iran

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has warned European countries against following US sanctions on Iran, saying Europe must choose between complying with Washington and protecting its own national and economic interests. Speaking during his weekly press conference on Monday, Esmail Baghaei was asked about the European Union’s support for US sanctions against Iran. “Europe must make its own decision. Europe has already tried this path: keeping the United States satisfied and complying with its demands, both at the UN Security Council and at the IAEA Board of Governors. The result has been the further marginalization of Europe’s role,” he said. He added that under European regulations, compliance with US secondary sanctions is prohibited. “Under what is known as the Blocking Statute, European companies are not allowed to comply with these sanctions, and European governments are required to protect their companies against US sanctions,” he added. Baghaei described the EU statement as a clear violation of international law as well as the bloc’s own sovereignty and independence. “If the European Union attaches any value to its credibility, sovereignty, independence, national interests and economic interests, it certainly should not follow the United States in its economic war against Iran,” he noted. IAEA used as a tool to exert political pressure Responding to a question about efforts by the United States and three European countries — France, Britain and Germany — to pass a resolution at the IAEA Board of Governors that would refer Iran’s nuclear file to the UN Security Council, Baghaei said the draft resolution was based on a report issued by the IAEA and its director general. “We have encountered this pattern and this process before,” he said. “Whenever they fall short in other areas, they turn to the IAEA and its director general. Or, conversely, the director general himself puts himself forward so that the European parties and the United States can use him to exert political pressure on Iran,” he said. He also called their demands unreasonable, stressing that the United States and Israel were responsible for the current situation. “The reason the IAEA cannot access Iran’s nuclear centers and facilities is the crime committed by the United States and the Israeli regime by attacking Iran’s nuclear facilities. They themselves blocked this path and are now blaming Iran for the IAEA’s inability to access its nuclear facilities. This defeats the purpose,” Baghaei said. The spokesperson also said Iran would take the necessary measures in response to any ill-advised action by the three European countries and the United States. He added that Tehran had repeatedly advised the three European countries to learn from an Iranian lesson: “Trying what has already been tried is a mistake.” Washington initiated aggression, violated MoU Asked about reports that the White House was seeking to reach a new agreement with Iran concerning the Strait of Hormuz and Iran’s nuclear program, Baghaei said Iran had made its position clear from the outset of the diplomatic process. “When we reached an understanding on June 18, we very quickly and clearly included what we had in mind in that memorandum of understanding. The problem is on the American side, which violated all its commitments only 22 or 23 days after the memorandum was signed,” he said. “Therefore, if we use the familiar diplomatic expression, the ball has long been in the American court, because they were both the initiators of the military aggression and the ones who began violating the understanding they had signed.” Iran’s actions in Strait of Hormuz are entirely defensive Responding to the US claim that Iran had fired missiles at two US warships and that attacks on Iranian oil tankers had been carried out in retaliation, the spokesman for Iran’s Foreign Ministry categorically rejected the account. “For a country that calls itself the greatest superpower in history, resorting to such threats and attacking commercial vessels in retaliation for what they themselves have acknowledged — namely, Iran’s attack on their warship — is truly nothing to be proud of,” he said. He said Iran was in a defensive position due to the continuation of the naval blockade and economic warfare. He added that Iran’s strikes against US military bases and warships were carried out within the framework of its inherent right to self-defense.“[This is] a right that is clearly enshrined in and recognized by Article 51 of the United Nations Charter,” he said. IRGC strikes 3 US-linked vessels, 3 trespassing oil tankers in retaliation for American attacks The IRGC Navy announces striking three United States-linked vessels and three trespassing oil tankers in retaliation for earlier American attacks on Iranian tankers. Asked whether Iran genuinely intended to prevent US ships from transiting the Strait of Hormuz or was merely seeking to pressure Washington, Baghaei said the insecurity in the strait was a direct consequence of US actions. “As long as this situation continues, it is fundamentally impossible to speak of the Strait of Hormuz becoming secure. The problem is not Iran’s actions. The problem is the military aggression by the United States and the Israeli regime, which is continuing in the form of a naval blockade, an economic war and attacks on Iranian commercial vessels,” he said. Iran-Oman talks reach final stage Regarding the latest status of negotiations with Oman, Baghaei said Iran and Oman, as two littoral states, had begun serious negotiations to establish safe routes through the Strait of Hormuz. “We can now say that the negotiations between Iran and Oman have reached the final stage. Most likely, within the coming days, the understanding between Iran and Oman on establishing a temporary safe route through the Strait of Hormuz will be registered with the International Maritime Organization,” Baghaei said. He expressed hope that “some ill-intentioned parties” would not interfere in the process and would allow it to proceed reasonably and logically. “As we have said before, the understanding between Iran and Oman is a necessary condition for establishing security along the transit routes of the Strait of Hormuz, but it is not a sufficient condition,” Baghaei said. The spokesman stressed that insecurity in the Strait of Hormuz was the result of US and Israeli military aggression and that US aggression was continuing. “Therefore, as long as this situation continues, ships cannot transit this route with confidence and a sense of security,” he said. US has long record of turning weddings into funerals: Iran embassy The Iranian Embassy in London slams the United States for a long history of deadly attacks on wedding ceremonies. US attacks on civilians are deliberate, not ‘collateral damage’ Asked about repeated US attacks on civilians and whether human rights bodies, including the UN special rapporteur on human rights in Iran, had taken a specific position on the issue, Baghaei slammed US officials for dishonesty. “American officials lie honestly, and that in itself is an art,” he said. “American officials know very well that one of the US military tactics over the past 70 or 80 years has been attacking civilian targets. When you reduce what is referred to as ‘dynamic operations’ to indiscriminate and aimless operations resembling the actions of the terrorist group Daesh, that itself is a sign of the moral decline of a system.” Baghaei said the US attack on a wedding ceremony was not an isolated incident. “This was not collateral damage; it was a deliberate act.” “But we as Iranians and the international community must not allow these crimes to simply become part of history. We must continue to hold the United States accountable.” On September 1, the US military struck a wedding ceremony in Kouhestak, southern province of Hormozgan. Five people, including two children aged 4 and 16, were killed in the attack.