“Iranian and Iraqi courts are where legal proceedings should take place on the assassination of General Soleimani,” he said.
Zarif also touched upon a statement by the Supreme Judicial Council of Iraq on the issuance of an arrest warrant for US President Donald Trump for his crime of assassinating the commanders of the resistance front.
“This warrant was issued following much effort by the Iranian foreign ministry and other institutions to pursue the matter,” he said.
Saeed Jalili, a member of the Supreme National Security Council, echoed statements made by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamanei regarding the sanctions, and said what is important for Iran is the lifting of sanctions.
“We are not insisting that the US return to the JCPOA, nor are we in a hurry for the US to do so,” he said in an exclusive interview with Khamenei.ir, the official website of Iran’s Leader.
“Whether the US will return to the JCPOA or not is not our issue,” he added.
“Our logical and rational demand is that sanctions be lifted,” Jalili noted.
“Iran has every right to see sanctions lifted,” the official stressed.
Jalili added the JCPOA was basically a tool to have the sanctions lifted.
“The objective was to have the sanction lifted,” he explained.
As the Leader has stressed, Jalali said, sanctions must be “lifted,” not “suspended.”
“Two important [categories of] sanctions include banking and oil sanctions,” which must be lifted, he said.
Mahmoud Hekmatnia told visiting South Korean Vice Foreign Minister Choi Jong-kun that the two countries should try to settle the existing problems.
“Both sides should seek to promote relations and remove the existing obstacles and problems, he said, highlighting the historical, cultural and economic background of both countries.
He said among the impediments to the enhancement of mutual relations is the seizure of the Iranian assets with South Korean banks.
The official underlined among the priorities of both countries should be to remove this problem first.
Hekmatnia said Iran’s seizure of the South Korean vessel in the Persian Gulf waters is a technical matter.
“Legal cases in the Islamic Republic of Iran are reviewed through the Judiciary, which is an independent branch [of the government], within the framework of legal and judicial regulations,” he added.
The South Korean official, in turn, called for expediting the process of releasing the South Korean ship seized by Iran.
Saeed Namaki noted, “Fortunately, the clinical trials and tests on humans have been very successful.”
He then touched upon Iran’s cooperation with Cuba on the development of a vaccine for COVID-19.
He said Iran and Cuba have been working together for years in the field of vaccine production.
“The hepatitis B vaccine which has been used in Iran for more than twenty years is a joint venture between the Pasteur Institute of Iran and the Cubans,” the health minister noted.
The minister added Iran and Cuba have also been working on a joint project to develop the pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
Mahmoud Vaezi, the chief of staff of the Iranian president’s office, said Iran does not need the ambulances.
“We ran the country for three years in the face of the economic war and pressure against us; so, we do not need a few ambulances; rather, we want the money that has been blocked in South Korea and must be released,” he said.
“The trip to Iran by the South Korean vice foreign minister had been arranged last month due to the pressure exerted by the [Iranian] foreign ministry and the Central Bank on the South Korean government,” said the official.
“The [South Korean] delegation travelled to Iran and made some comments. Folks at the [Iranian] foreign ministry and the Central Bank reacted firmly, too,” he said.
“The South Koreans promised to return and get permission [from Seoul] to free up Iran’s assets,” he added.
He noted Iran has made the preliminary arrangements to take legal action if South Korea fails to release Iran’s frozen assets.
In a statement released on Wednesday, Saeed Khatibzadeh slammed the US Department of State’s announcement about terrorist designation of Yemeni movement Ansarullah as the Trump administration’s last-ditch attempts to complete its destructive role in the imposed and shameful war against Yemen and to force the political solutions and peace negotiations into a deadlock.
“From the outset of the war on Yemen, the US has been the main sponsor of the crimes committed by the Saudi-led coalition in Yemen and has spared no financial and arms assistance in this regard,” he deplored.
The spokesman also noted that the US administration and State Department under Donald Trump have spared no effort to fan the flames of war in Yemen, make the war continue, and block every single path to the political settlement of the crisis.
The US State Department’s plan for terrorist designation of Ansarullah has concerned the international community, has affected the peaceful solutions and the delivery of humanitarian aids, and would also obstruct the United Nations’ peacekeeping mission in Yemen, Khatibzadeh added.
The Iranian Foreign Ministry’s spokesperson finally expressed hope that the international community would react to such evil decision made by the State Department of Trump’s regime.
US State Secretary Mike Pompeo announced on January 10 that his ministry will notify Congress of his intent to designate Ansarullah as a Foreign Terrorist Organization (FTO).
In a formal ceremony on Wednesday morning, the Navy’s Southern Fleet received Makran forward base ship and Zereh (Armor) missile-launching frigate on the first day of a naval drill, dubbed Eqtedar (Power).
The event was attended by Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces Major General Mohammad Hossein Baqeri, Army Commander Major General Abdolrahim Mousavi, and other senior commanders.
Makran forward base ship can carry 100,000 tons of fuel and fresh water and supply them to the naval vessels in various locations.
The Iranian vessel is capable of making voyages for 1,000 days without a port call.
In September, Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi said Makran is the country’s largest military vessel that can carry seven helicopters.
It could provide support for the Navy’s forces and warships in high seas, especially in the Northern Indian Ocean, Bab el-Mandeb Strait and Red Sea.
Zereh missile-launching vessel, with its high maneuverability and speed, would help the Navy in defending the Islamic Republic of Iran’s territorial waters.
Iran’s Armed Forces hold routine military exercises throughout the year in order to enhance capabilities to defend the country and its interests.
The Eqtedar-99 drill that began on Wednesday morning involves various naval units.
The war game zone covers the Makran coasts in southeast Iran and the Indian Ocean waters.
Speaking in a Wednesday cabinet session, Rouhani said these days are not just marking the end of an administration, but the failure of the “maximum pressure” policy against Iran.
“This is not just the end of the tenure of an administration; rather, we are seeing the failure of a policy, the “maximum pressure” policy against a great nation as well as the failure of the economic terrorism policy. They wanted to disrupt Iranian people’s lives. We are seeing that at the end of three years of war and violence and terrorist acts, we are now seeing the revival of our country’s economy,” he said.
“It is not a matter of the old administration’s tenure ending, and that of the new one beginning in the US. Rather, in that country, we are seeing another downfall coupled with the embarrassment of the White House, and it shows bullying, racism and violating the law in the world will not have a happy ending,” President Rouhani added.
“Over the past three years, our dear and patient people resisted this infamous terrorist in history. Despite the fact that US officials claimed they would topple the Iranian Establishment in three months, they themselves were toppled with humiliation,” said Rouhani.
“Today, at the end of these three years of war, violence, and acts of terrorism in our country … we are witnessing a progress and stability in the country’s economy despite all the pressures,” the president noted.
The president said Iran managed to revive its economy despite Washington’s economic terrorism against the Islamic Republic.
Rouhani said the growth in the country’s exports during the past few months proves the fact that not only has the US maximum pressure policy totally failed, but its designers are falling and their political life has come to an end.
“A president who lacked political understanding took the helm of a country, and was accompanied by a stupid foreign minister and an ignorant and radical national security advisor. He handled everything with his gambling- and business-oriented mind, and we finally saw how his term ended,” he added.
Rouhani said the American society is now faced with a huge rift inside their country while the Iranian nation celebrates the disgraceful end of Trump’s era.
“On the same day that the Iranian people feel victorious against this pressure and terrorism, the American people witness great failure in their social and political lives and a huge rift inside the US,” he added.
“No one could believe this law-breaker [Trump] would order riot against his own nation, his own security, and the country’s legislature, and provoke people against the very democracy they believe in,” he added, referring to Trump supporters’ assault against the US Congress.
“We are approaching the anniversary of the escape of the former Shah of Iran from the country. This anniversary has coincided with an event similar to that event in another part of the world,” he said.
“The escape of that mercenary (the former Shah of Iran) on January 16 (1979) was a symbol of the embarrassment and the end of foreign oppression and colonialism in Iran. And today, we are seeing an almost unprecedented event in which another tyrant is being toppled in the United States,” President Rouhani added.
“No one is fooled. All 9/11 terrorists came from [US] Secretary [of State Mike] Pompeo’s favorite Middle East destinations; NONE from Iran,” Zarif tweeted on Tuesday.
The Iranian Foreign Minister was referring to Saudi Arabia and its widely-known financial and ideological sponsorship of the terrorist outfit that staged the September 11, 2001 attacks against the United States.
“From designating Cuba to fictitious Iran ‘declassifications’ and AQ (al-Qaeda) claims, Mr. ‘we lie, cheat, steal’ is pathetically ending his disastrous career with more warmongering lies,” Zarif added.
He was referring to a recent raft of actions by the outgoing US President Donald Trump administration’s most forward Iran hawk Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, who is just eight days away from handing over the State Department.
Most recently, Pompeo brought Cuba back to the US’s list of “Terrorism Sponsors.” The island was down the path of rapprochement with the administration of Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama. Trump’s inauguration, however, ushered in a swift decline in the countries’ ties, with Pompeo’s move making it even harder for incoming President Joe Biden to resume a détente.
Later, the US top diplomat identified Iran, without any evidence, as the terrorist al-Qaeda group’s “new home base.” He made the remarks as part of, what he called, publicizing “declassified US intelligence,” which — as in the case of Washington’s other claims against Tehran — surprisingly lacked all “declassified proof.”
Ali Rabiee noted Trump intended to make the situation so difficult for Iranians that they will turn against the Establishment.
“Our dear people, who have suffered a lot, will never forget these cruel sanctions by Trump as well as the evil acts he committed against Iran,” he said.
“Trump said openly that he would tighten the noose on Iranians, so much so that people will riot. He said the Iranian Establishment would be toppled in three months or one year,” the spokesman said.
“The [Iranian] government is going through a tough path to create the condition of resistance, ward off Trump’s warmongering and protect people’s livelihood and health. The path is so tough that during the coronavirus pandemic, the US government and Treasury created numerous problems for us with regards to buying vaccines and medicines,” he added.
Rabiei noted Iran had already warned about the repercussions of Washington’s unilateralism.
“Another important event on the international stage last week was the attack on the US Congress building. It was an important and unprecedented happening that we saw happened. … what is important to us is the warnings that we had been constantly giving since almost the time the Trump administration took office, warnings about the consequences of law-breaking and unilateralism by the Trump regime,” he said.
“We said, time and again, that the [US] policy of bullying would not be limited to the Iranian nation. Trump’s critics finally had to pay the price for their silence against, and sometimes support for his anti-Iran policies, which finally bored down on them themselves in their own country,” he added.
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