Iran rejects EU and GCC criticism over nuclear and defense issues
Iran dismissed remarks by European Union and Gulf Cooperation Council officials who linked Tehran to regional instability and pressed it to act as a responsible power.
EU foreign policy chief Kaja Kallas said on Sunday the reactivation of UN sanctions on Iran was “a setback but not the end of diplomacy,” and called for continued dialogue to reduce tensions. Germany’s Foreign Minister Johann Wadephul accused Tehran of using Yemen’s Houthis to project destabilizing influence and said their attacks endangered Israel and international shipping.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Esmail Baghaei said on Tuesday those comments were unacceptable. “Those who reimposed restrictions on Iran and accuse us of destabilization have no right to lecture us,” he said. “It is shameful that the very parties responsible for the current situation now present themselves as accusers.”
He added that European criticism of Iran’s defense policy was misplaced. “The parties that spend hundreds of billions of dollars to turn our region into a warehouse of destructive weapons cannot question the indigenous defense capabilities of the Iranian people,” he said.
