US must put end to illegal, unlawful measures: Iran gov’t spox

Tehran, July 28, IRNA – Iranian Government spokesman Ali Rabiee on Tuesday said that the US must terminate its illegal and unlawful moves before it is too late. "The Islamic Republic of Iran will not be a spectator of America’s provocations," he pointed out. With regard to the harassment by the US jet fighter jets of the Iranian passenger plane, he stated that the report and complaint on the issue have been submitted to the International Civil Aviation Organization (ICAO) and Iran is investigating all other legal options simultaneously. The US is not committed to the aviation laws and regulations, he said noting that the responsibility of any upcoming incident that will endanger the lives of civilians of the passenger planes will fall on it and the Americans should be waiting for the consequences. The US government has long been unable to hear the viewpoints of American experts and cannot realize Iran's realities, he further noted. A maximum pressure policy has failed, he said, adding that the US' Secretary of State continues to provide false information to the President of America. He went on to say that US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is determined to deceive his boss (President Donald Trump) and this is the path that John Bolton pursued for one year. Iran has no enthusiasm for the partisan and domestic policies of the United States, he underlined. Iran considers the US as a country that has international responsibility, he stated, adding that it must comply with the obligations and behave like a member of the international community. Iran and Russia have common interests and concerns Rabiee added that Iran and Russia have many common interests and concerns that need to handle them in a constant relationship between the officials of the two countries. The recent letter of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin is also according to the parties' coordination about these issues and the future of cooperation between Iran and Russia. He further noted that when the United States has adopted a hostile attitude towards the nations of Iran and Russia in various fields, the exchange of ideas between presidents is natural and can accelerate the progress of the affairs. Rabiee said that it is sometimes essential that a part of this coordination would take place at the foreign ministers' level and sometimes at the presidents' level. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s visit along with transferring President Rouhani’s message to President Putin was a successful diplomatic effort at both levels. "In general, this visit had two goals. One is about the US effort to continue the arms embargo of the Islamic Republic of Iran, which needed negotiations to be carried out at higher levels with the Russian Federation. Another goal is to extend the agreement "we have had with the Russian Federation for twenty years in all fields", he pointed out.