Tehran slams West’s ‘illegal’ approach to riots in Iran, vows reciprocal measures

Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman has decried as “illegal” the stance of Western countries, including the United States, on recent riots that erupted across Iran over a month ago, vowing to respond with reciprocal measures to “non-constructive” sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Speaking at a press conference on Monday, Nasser Kan’ani said some European and Western countries have taken actions against Iran that “are basically illegal and illegitimate.”

He emphasized that providing support for riots in other countries is a “completely illegal behavior.”

Noting that the Islamic Republic is a responsible country that adheres to international obligations, Kan’ani said that Tehran would respond to those actions within the framework of international laws.

“In the upcoming days, we will see a proportionate and reciprocal reaction to the recently imposed sanctions.”

The European Union and some western countries have imposed sanctions on Iran over its approach toward the recent riots.

Protests erupted in Iran after a young woman, Mahsa Amini, died in hospital three days after she collapsed in police custody. The protests were soon derailed and turned violent by extremist elements.

An official report published earlier this month said Amini’s death had been caused by an illness rather than alleged blows to the head or other vital body organs.

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Iran

‘US actions hypocritical’

Kan’ani also touched upon the talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, stressing that Tehran’s demands “are completely legal, clear and logical.”

He said that an agreement can be reached if the US provides guarantees that it would not leave the multilateral deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), again.

Kan’ani noted that the US’ actions are “hypocritical,” adding that Americans have sent several messages to Iran expressing their readiness to return to the accord, but at the same time made statements that the negotiations are not on their agenda as they support the riots.

The United States, under former President Donald Trump, abandoned the multilateral nuclear deal in May 2018 and reinstated unilateral sanctions that the agreement had lifted.

The talks to salvage the agreement kicked off in the Austrian capital city of Vienna in April last year, months after Joe Biden succeeded Trump, with the intention of examining Washington’s seriousness in rejoining the deal and removing anti-Iran sanctions.

Elsewhere in his remarks, Kan’ani once again dismissed as baseless the accusations leveled by the US and some European countries that Tehran provided Russia with weapons.

“We have not exported weapons to any of the parties involved in the Ukrainian war,” he said.

“Western countries are on one side of the Ukrainian war and then they level accusations against Iran,” the spokesman wondered.

In recent weeks, Kiev and many of its Western allies have accused Moscow of using Iranian-made drones in attacks on Ukraine.

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian has previously rejected the accusation and “emphasized that the Islamic Republic of Iran has not and will not provide any weapon to be used in the war in Ukraine.”

“We believe that the arming of each side of the crisis will prolong the war,” Amir-Abdollahian said in a call with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho on October 14.

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