Iran Warns of Retaliation as EU Considers Fresh Sanctions

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir Abdollahian warned of Tehran’s retaliatory response to any new sanction or resolution that may be mooted in the next meeting of the Council of Ministers of the European Union.

In a telephone conversation with his Portuguese counterpart Joao Gomes Cravinho on Friday, Amir Abdollahian denounced the foreign acts of interference that have provoked rioters and terrorists in Iran.

Pointing to the recent unrest in some Iranian cities, the Iranian foreign minister said, “We are a country confronting terrorist groups such as al-Qaeda, Jaish ul-Adl and Daes [Arabic for ‘ISIS/ISIL’] in the west and the east. Moreover, we have seen the smuggling of weapons into the country from the western and eastern borders in recent weeks.”

He also bemoaned the fact that a number of countries have made interfering comments and have practically provoked the rioters and terrorists in Iran by categorizing the riots and terrorist activities as protests.

“They have even put the subject of issuing resolutions or [imposing anti-Iran] sanctions in the next meeting of the European Union’s Council of Ministers on their agenda. If such measure takes place, the Islamic Republic of Iran will take retaliatory action,” he warned.

On the war in Ukraine, Amir Abdollahian reiterated that Iran has not provided any warring side with weapons for the use in the war.

Iran believes that arming the warring sides will prolong the Ukraine war, he stated, stressing that war is not the proper solution anywhere in the world, be it in Ukraine, Afghanistan, Syria or Yemen.

He finally referred to the talks on the removal of the sanctions against Iran and saving the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [JCPOA], highlighted the constructive negotiations between the head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and the director general of the International Atomic Energy Agency, and stressed the need for the closure of the case of the IAEA’s allegations against Iran.

For his part, Joao Gomes Cravinho hailed the history of good relations between Portugal and Iran, and praised the Islamic Republic’s stances and move to proceed with the nuclear talks and cooperate with the UN nuclear agency.

The Portuguese foreign minister also called on Iran to keep cooperation in order to ease the tension in Ukraine.