Salehi: West Should Change Approach Towards Iran

Tehran, Feb 20, IRNA – Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi said on Sunday that there are too many contradictions in words and deeds of western countries and expressing his hope that they would change their approach toward Iran. Salehi made the remarks in a joint conference with his Nicaraguan counterpart Samuel Santos Lopez in Tehran on Sunday. It is over thirty years that western countries have used the language of force against the Islamic Republic but to no avail and it is advisable for them to change their approach and start interaction instead of confrontations, Salehi added. Referring to the allegations made by UK foreign minister on the escalation of cold war in the Middle East region, Salehi said this is one of the methods for exerting more pressure on Iran through a media hype. The statements by some western officials are merely propagandist by nature, underlined Salehi. Certain countries seek to arouse concern about Iran’s approach but the country does not fear such stands, he said. Undoubtedly, Iran’s nuclear program is of peaceful nature, he said, adding that the country is determined to continue its path with more confidence and will not pay heed to such hue and cry, Salehi said. As declared before, Iran is ready to resume talks with G5+1 but it seems that certain countries have adopted contradictory approaches to this end, he said. Some countries do not know how to take rational approaches in dealing with others, he said, adding that they want to treat nations in the same way as colonial powers did but they will finally realize that independent states such as the Islamic Republic of Iran will resist them. He termed recent claims about Iran’s involvement in assassination attempts on some diplomats of the Zionist regime as a new plot to damage relations between Iran and its friendly countries, Salehi said. In response to a question Iran’s alleged involvement in bomb explosions in New Delhi, Georgia and Bangkok, every body knows how many Muslim scientists have been assassinated by Zionists. In 1998, they leveled a similar accusation against Iran in Thailand but later they were forced to apologize to the Iranian government for their mistake, Salehi said./end