Mr. Bahram Ghasemi is currently speaking to the press in his weekly press conference held usually on Mondays. His primary focus was on Mr. Rouhani’s tour of Oman and Kuwait where Ghasemi believed president received a lavish welcome, as an indication that Iran’s relations with these two countries had been cordial; “Iran’s foreign policy pursues a friendly relations and constructive ties with the neighbors; there is excellent ground for cooperation and diplomacy with Oman and Kuwait, as Mr. Rouhani’s visit provides testament,” he told reporters.
Ghasemi then turned to relations with Saudi Arabia; “an Iranian delegation will visit Saudi capital of Riyadh this week to discuss prospects of hajj pilgrimage with Saudi officials; the visit is by an official invitation by Saudi sides,” the spokesperson said.
Ghasemi accused some ‘malignant hands’ of creating problems for Iran’s ties with Arab countries in the region; however, he believed President Rouhani’s visit to Kuwait and Oman helped improve the atmosphere where Iran would be viewed in more positive lights; “Iran works to have relations with Arab neighbors based on principles of mutual respect and noninterference; for example, in Munich Security Conference, positions about Iran by some of these malignant hands were clichéd and in some cases, not to be taken serious,” he told the press, lamenting the cacophony and heteroglossia where there was a general state of ambivalence, “since we have received from Persian Gulf many negative signals and messages, while they also communicate positive positions as well.”
“No single voice would clearly speak out the Persian Gulf countries’ positions and we should interpret contradictory messages with care and caution,” he asserted.
On Turkey’s recent positions voiced in Munich Security Conference, Mr. spokesperson believed after the unsuccessful coup in Turkey, country had been mired on a precarious position, with officials voicing positions nourished more by anger and an attempt to shift the blame for their domestic as well as regional debacles; “we do not want to see such rhetoric to govern Iran-Turkey ties; we will be patient with their positions, but there is a certain cap for our patience,” Ghasemi warned.
On possible difference of positions of Iran and Russia on Astana’s second round of session on Syria, Ghasemi rejected the differences and both countries had similar positions in wider range of issues; “difference was however evident about groups eligible to participate in Astana process which was the major factor that Turkey attended in the event with its lower-ranking officials,” he said.
“Astana process would not mean that all participants are unanimous on Syria, since any party pursues its own interests; we believe Turkey’s plan and demand on establishing a no-fly zone or safe zone in north of Syria was impracticable and ill-conceived,” he emphasized.
Ghasemi also voiced Iran’s condemnation of Israel as the first and foremost threat to Middle East security with having had hundreds of nuclear warheads; “Iran has wage laudable efforts on disarmament in international community, an undertaking requiring serious will and international unanimity to succeed in the desired direction,” he emphasized.
Spokesperson also roundly rejected Iran’s contacts with new administration in the White House; “nuclear deal is the sole ground on which we have been interacting with the US; we still believe the US has been failing in remaining committed to its promises provisioned for by the JCPOA and the EU has joined us in seeing the situation in the same light.
SH