Iran’s Pezeshkian to European Council chief: US double standards emboldening Israel to commit crimes

In a phone call with President of the European Council Charles Michel on Sunday, Pezeshkian said the Israeli regime is now posing more threats to regional and international peace and security.

“The Islamic Republic of Iran has always supported peace, tranquility and stability across the world and for all nations and believes that any trend in any part of the world that endangers these values ​​should be stopped,” he added.

Pezeshkian made the remarks a day after the Israeli regime’s brutal attack on a school sheltering displaced people in the east of the Gaza Strip, which killed more than 100 civilians.

The Gaza government media office said more than 100 citizens were killed and dozens injured on Saturday morning after the Israeli occupation forces bombed the al-Tabi’in school in the al-Daraj neighborhood in Gaza City.

Backed by the US and its Western allies, the Israeli regime launched an all-out invasion of Gaza after it was caught off-guard by Operation Al-Aqsa Storm inside the occupied territories in October last year.

Nearly 40,000 Palestinians have since been killed, most of them women and children, and more than 92,000 others injured in the merciless Israeli aggression.

The Iranian president stressed the importance of promoting a multipolar system in the world.

He said the US policies on exerting pressure on countries like Iran and depriving them of all their rights and interests are in line with Washington’s goal to prevent the establishment of a new world order, warning that such moves will harm global stability and peace.

Pointing to the European Council’s willingness to resume talks with Iran to revive the 2015 nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Pezeshkian insisted on mutual confidence and interests as prerequisites to a possible deal.

“If the two sides fulfill all their obligations and build confidence, they can discuss other issues [of common interests] in addition to the revival of the nuclear agreement,” the Iranian president added.

The negotiations to restore the JCPOA began in April 2021, three years after the US unilaterally withdrew from the UNSC-endorsed agreement and began to target Iran’s economy with tough economic sanctions.

Iran has criticized the lack of will on the side of the US and the E3 to revive the deal and has ramped up its nuclear activities in response to their non-compliance.

For his part, Michel stated European countries are keen to promote relations with Iran.

He expressed hope that Iran and the European Union will resume effective interaction based on common interests and the removal of obstacles in the way of enhanced relations.

Pointing to the latest developments in Gaza, the president of the European Council emphasized the need to observe humanitarian rights, stop Israel’s attacks, establish a ceasefire, dispatch aid to the people of Gaza and recognize an independent Palestinian state.