Iran slams U.S. sanctions push, Syria
rejects idea of Iranian withdrawal
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[May 23, 2018]
By Bozorgmehr Sharafedin
LONDON (Reuters) - Iran on Wednesday kept
up a drumbeat of opposition to U.S. demands for sweeping change in its
foreign policy and nuclear program, and Tehran's ally Damascus dismissed
out of hand a U.S. call for a withdrawal of Iranian forces from Syria.
France, one of several European powers dismayed by the U.S. withdrawal
from a 2015 nuclear accord, said Washington's method of adding more
sanctions on Tehran would reinforce the country's dominant hardliners.
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo on Monday threatened Iran with "the
strongest sanctions in history" if it did not curb its regional
influence, accusing Tehran of supporting armed groups in countries such
as Syria, Lebanon and Yemen.
Pompeo was speaking two weeks after President Donald Trump pulled out of
an international nuclear deal with Iran that had lifted sanctions on
Iran in exchange for curbs to its nuclear program. European powers see
the accord as the best chance of stopping Tehran acquiring a nuclear
weapon.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/May/23/images/ads/current/flossie_sda_PROM_2018.png)
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Pompeo had repeated
old allegations against Tehran "only with a stronger and more indecent
tone".
"Mr Pompeo and other U.S. officials in the current administration are
prisoners of their wrong illusions, prisoners of their past and have
been taken hostage by corrupt pressure groups," he told state
television.
A senior Iranian military official, Major General Mohammad Bagheri, said
Iran would not bow to Washington's pressure to limit its military
activities.
"This enemy (the United States) does not have the courage for military
confrontation and face-to-face war with Iran, but it's trying to put
economic and mental pressures on the Iranian nation," state news agency
IRNA reported him as saying.
"ENDANGERING THE REGION"
In Damascus, Syria's deputy foreign minister dismissed the notion of a
withdrawal of Iranian forces.
In Syria's seven-year-old conflict, Iran has provided vital support to
President Bashar al-Assad's military. Its forces and the militias it
backs from the region, including Lebanon's Hezbollah, helped Damascus
claw back control of major cities from militants and rebels.
"Whether Iranian forces or Hezbollah withdraw or stay in Syria is not up
for discussion because it's the (business) of the Syrian government,"
Lebanon's al-Mayadeen TV cited Faisal Mekdad as saying.
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![](../images/052318pics/news_q16.jpg)
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif is pictured before a
meeting with European Commissioner for Energy and Climate, Miguel
Arias Canete, in Tehran, Iran May 20, 2018. REUTERS/Alissa de
Carbonnel
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In Paris, France's foreign minister said the U.S. decision to scrap
the Iran nuclear deal and implement a tough strategy on the country
would strengthen Tehran's hardliners and endanger the region.
"We disagree with the method because this collection of sanctions
which will be set up against Iran will not enable dialogue and, on
the contrary, it will reinforce the conservatives and weaken
President Rouhani. This posture risks endangering the region more,"
Jean-Yves Le Drian told France Inter radio.
He said Paris would continue to implement the agreement even if it
did agree with the United States that Iran's ballistic missile
activity and regional hegemonic ambitions needed to be curbed.
He said Paris shared Washington's concerns over Iran's ballistic
missile "frenzy" and regional ambitions, but the 2015 nuclear deal
was the best chance of stopping Tehran developing a nuclear bomb.
Deputy foreign ministers of the remaining parties to the accord -
Britain, China, France, Germany and Russia - will meet their Iranian
counterpart on Friday in Vienna.
The meeting will assess what can be done to keep the deal and
circumvent extraterritorial American sanctions that are impacting
foreign business appetite for Iran.
![](http://archives.lincolndailynews.com/2018/May/23/images/ads/current/peasleymemorials_lda100213.png)
For a graphic on Iran's nuclear program: https://tmsnrt.rs/2rvkaq6
(Additional reporting by John Irish in Paris and Parisa Hafezi in
Ankara, Ellen Francis in Beirut, Editing by William Maclean and
Janet Lawrence)
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