Ex-administration's claims against Zarif dismissed
Iran’s Foreign Ministry has criticized the former administration for accusing incumbent Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif of disseminating false reports on Tehran’s nuclear program.
In a statement on Tuesday, the Public Relations Bureau of the Iranian Foreign Ministry warned that it could pursue the 'false allegations' against Zarif through legal channels in due time.
It called on the office of the former administration to refer to available national documents as well as reports by the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) to see that Zarif’s remarks were true.
Zarif said earlier this week that the former President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's administration had allowed IAEA inspectors to interview Iranian nuclear scientists.
During the past ten years, Zarif said, Iran has taken measures to remove ambiguities surrounding its nuclear program, adding that “even during the previous administration, inspectors from the International Atomic Energy Agency conducted several interviews with the country’s nuclear scientists,” but “no ambiguities were found.”
Following Zarif’s remarks, the office of the former administration rejected his comments as “sheer lie.”
The office said that Ahmadinejad had officially and openly forbidden any interviews or meetings between Iranian scientists and IAEA inspectors.
Zarif's remarks were part of his comments reiterating Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei’s views on the nation's nuclear issue.
On Monday, Zarif pointed to the Leader's opposition to foreigners’ call for having interviews with the country's nuclear scientists and said that Iran will not allow such interviews.
“The Iranian negotiating team will definitely abide by the Leader’s views on all issues pertaining to the nuclear negotiations,” he said.
However, Zarif claimed the former administrations had allowed IAEA inspectors to have interviews with Iranian nuclear scientists to remove potential ambiguities regarding Tehran's nuclear program.
AR/NN/HRB
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