Iran warns the countries of the region about Washington's dangerously ill-intentioned and divisive policies targeting the regional nations and their relations.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Nasser Kan'ani made the remarks on Thursday in reaction to a joint statement by the United States and the Persian Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC).
The thoroughly anti-Iranian statement was issued by American and GCC officials during a meeting of the so-called "Working Group on Iran" at the council's headquarters in the Saudi capital Riyadh on Wednesday. It saw the countries in question accusing Iran of leading "destabilizing policies," "supporting terrorism," "weapons proliferation...in the region and around the world," and "nuclear provocations."
Kan'ani roundly rejected the accusations that were leveled against the Islamic Republic in the statement, describing them as "oft-repeated" and "tedious."
He considered the issuance of such statements to be in line with the US regime's age-old strategy of sowing division among the countries of the region.
The official went on by citing many instances of the United States's "destructive" and "interventionist" policies in the region, which had worked to disrupt regional stability and security.
The spokesperson enumerated the US's sales of millions of dollars worth of weapons to the regional states, its "support for Takfiri terrorism," its "continued all-out backing of the Zionist regime [of Israel]'s crimes against the oppressed Palestinian people," and Washington's contribution to the years-long devastating war against the Yemeni nation.
Addressing the allegations targeting Iran's nuclear work, Kan'ani said the Islamic Republic would carry on with its peaceful nuclear energy program and "constructive" cooperation with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), notwithstanding existing political pressures and propagandist smear campaigns.
Belief in regional diplomacy
The Islamic Republic, he continued, believes in regional diplomacy and endeavor toward the resolution of regional crises through political solutions.
The official, meanwhile, referred to the country's favorable and growing ties with its neighbors, expressing hope that the countries of the region would travel down the path of regional peace, security, and sustainable development while remaining cautious about the United States's "self-serving intentions and sinister policies" targeting the region.