Top Iran security official says Biden illegally threatened Tehran
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[August 28, 2021]
DUBAI (Reuters) -A top Iranian
security official accused U.S. President Joe Biden on Saturday of
illegally threatening Iran after he said he may consider other options
if nuclear diplomacy with Tehran fails.
"The emphasis on using 'other options' against (Iran) amounts to
threatening another country illegally and establishes Iran's right to
reciprocate ... against 'available options'," Ali Shamkhani, secretary
of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, said on Twitter.
Biden told Israeli Prime Minister Naftali Bennett in White House talks
on Friday he was putting "diplomacy first" to try to rein in Iran's
nuclear programme, but that if negotiations fail he would be prepared to
turn to other unspecified options.
The U.N. atomic watchdog said in a report this month Iran had
accelerated its enrichment of uranium to near weapons-grade, a move
raising tensions with the West as both sides seek to resume talks on
reviving Tehran's nuclear deal.
The indirect U.S.-Iranian talks in Vienna have been on hold since the
last round ended on June 20 as Iran's new government under hardline
President Ebrahim Raisi prepared to take over.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Khamenei drew a parallel on Saturday
between the Biden administration's approach to the nuclear accord to
that of former President Donald Trump, who withdrew from the deal in
2018 and reimposed sanctions on Iran.
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President Joe Biden delivers remarks about Afghanistan, from the
East Room of the White House in Washington, U.S. August 26, 2021.
REUTERS/Jonathan Ernst/File Photo
"The current U.S. administration is no different from
the previous one because it demands in different words what Trump
demanded from Iran in the nuclear area," state television quoted
Khamenei as saying in his first meeting with Raisi's cabinet.
Trump's withdrawal from the accord aimed to pressure Iran into
negotiating stricter curbs on its nuclear programme, ballistic
missile development and support for regional proxy forces. Tehran
rejected Washington's demands.
(Reporting by Dubai newsroomEditing by Catherine Evans and Helen
Popper)
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