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Iran accuses US of causing tension in Middle East
Iranian authorities are accusing the US of causing tension in the Middle East in retaliation to comments by President Donald Trump who said Washington was not looking for “regime change” in Iran but was only interested in preventing Tehran from getting nuclear weapons.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a Twitter post on Monday, insisted that Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons and also accused the US, of “hurting the Iranian people”.
Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei “long ago said we’re not seeking nuclear weapons – by issuing a fatwa (edict) banning them”, Zarif tweeted.
The comments by the Iranian Foreign Minister comes after Trump said on Monday during a trip to Japan that a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme was possible.
Read also: UN orders Russia to free 24 detained Ukranian sailors
“We aren’t looking for regime change – I just want to make that clear. We are looking for no nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters during a news conference with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
“I really believe that Iran would like to make a deal, and I think that’s very smart of them, and I think that’s a possibility to happen,” he said.
“It has a chance to be a great country with the same leadership.”
In response, Zarif tweeted: “Actions – not words – will show whether or not that’s @realDonaldTrump’s intent,” Zarif added, referencing the US president’s Twitter handle.
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