Iran to Act ’Independently’ If Terrorists Threaten NW Borders – Deputy FM

By Staff, Agencies

Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi warned that terrorists should not be stationed near the country’s northwestern borders, warning of an independent act if such a threat persists.

Referring to the suspicious role of the Zionist regime in recent conflicts in the Karabakh region between Azerbaijan and Armenia, Araqchi said Iran warned the two sides of the occupation regime’s efforts to create a permanent crisis and tensions in the region.

Araqchi made the comments on Wednesday in an interview with the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting [IRIB].

“Iran won’t tolerate the presence of Takfiri terrorist groups near its borders at all,” he said, stressing that both sides have assured Iran that the presence of the terrorists will not be permanent, adding that Iran will act against the groups by itself independently if necessary.

Araqchi referred to the fact that many Americans have taken to the streets to voice their objection against US election result, the polarization of American society, and that both US parties accuse each other of fraud in the election, Araqchi described the US election as a “spectacle”  through which the fake democracy grandeur of US was broke in the world.

Answering a question over Biden’s possible policy on returning to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], Araqchi said: "In this regard, I must say that we are not afraid of Trump's stay in White House, nor are we excited about Biden taking power. We make decisions and take measures based on our own interests."

He went on to say: "Although there are many changes, the way to return the JCPOA is not closed. Iran did not leave the table of negotiation and the P5 + 1. It was the US that unilaterally withdrew the JCPOA."

Referring to the words of Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei, Araqchi noted that Iran will not have bilateral negotiations with the United States, except at the negotiating table of the P5 + 1.

He also tackled the US compensation of its economic damages against Iran, stressing, “If the United States returns to the table of negotiation and JCPOA, all anti-Iran sanctions must be lifted to meet the interests of the Iranian nation.”

Elsewhere in his remarks, Araqchi referred to US policies of so-called ‘maximum pressure,’ underscoring that “The whole world has accepted that such policy has failed and has not achieved any of its goals.”

So far, the Iranian nation has resisted these pressures well and they will continue to do so in the future, he concluded.