Araghchi Dismisses Rubio’s Statements as Unfounded
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has criticized US Secretary of State Marco Rubio’s remarks about a potential agreement between Iran and the United States, calling them “baseless” and a repeat of old rhetoric. Mr. Araghchi also compared Rubio’s comments to a past statement made by former US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.
On Wednesday (November 11), Mr. Araghchi made these remarks in a post shared on the social media platform X. Earlier, while speaking to journalists after the G7 Foreign Ministers’ meeting in Paris on Tuesday, Mr. Rubio addressed the possibility of reaching an agreement with Iran.
Mr. Rubio stated that Iran wants to reach a deal with the United States. However, he described Tehran’s conditions for an agreement as unreasonable and insufficient for negotiations. He further claimed that economic pressure will eventually take a toll on Iran, as the country’s government must ultimately fund food for its citizens and expenses for its security forces.
In response to Mr. Rubio’s remarks, Mr. Araghchi wrote that eight years ago, a cartoonish character like Pompeo claimed that if Iranians wanted to eat, they had to obey White House directives. Now, Mr. Rubio is repeating the same old and baseless rhetoric.
Mr. Araghchi further wrote that Mr. Rubio’s own Cuban-origin compatriots are victims of a similar policy. Marco Rubio is the son of Cuban immigrants, and the United States has long imposed economic and commercial embargoes on Cuba.
These tit-for-tat remarks from officials of both nations come amid ongoing tensions between Iran and the United States. Washington maintains that economic pressure can compel Tehran to show flexibility in negotiations, while Iran continues to criticize US pressure and conditions.
Source: Al Jazeera
