Afkhm's Reaction to Obama's Remarks: It's American Policies That Need to Change

The spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry described U.S. President Barack Obama's statements on Monday and his request for "change in Iran's policy and leadership" as "repetitive" and stated that the United States' approach towards "independent nations" requires "change and transformation." According to the state news agency IRNA, Marzieh Afkhm, on Thursday, August 22, also rejected the "claim of Iran's isolation," emphasizing that from the perspective of the Islamic Republic and according to her, "many free nations of the world," Israel and its "supporters" in the international community are "isolated and rejected." Barack Obama, in an interview with the media website "Mike" on Monday, August 19, called for "change in Iran's policy and leadership" and a shift in the "rhetoric and behavior" of Iranian leaders towards other countries. Mr. Obama emphasized that there needs to be a "transition" within Iran to understand that slogans like 'Death to America' and Holocaust denial, as well as threats to destroy Israel and providing weapons to Hezbollah, make Iran, in the eyes of the majority of the world, a rejected country. In response to these remarks, Afkhm accused Barack Obama of "ignoring" the "realities of nearly four decades of Iranian society" and stated that "Iran's authority and position is not only based on the ancient Iranian and Islamic culture and civilization but also on the resistance of the Iranian people against hegemony and threats and principled support for oppressed nations, which are important reasons for it." The Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesperson also accused the U.S. government of "straying from the real interests of the American people, being the cause and supporter of warmongering, insecurity, and instability in the region." Afkhm considered the "comprehensive support of the U.S. for Israel" as a reason for what she called the "decline of America's credibility and influence in the region." She added, "If American officials realistically reflect on their credibility and reputation among the nations of the world, especially in the Islamic world, they will seize the rare opportunities available to reconsider several decades of misguided policies based on warmongering and support for terrorism." Following the Vienna nuclear agreement, U.S. officials have continued to criticize the Islamic Republic's policies in the region and issues such as the actions of the Quds Force, Iran's support for Hezbollah in Lebanon, and the human rights situation in Iran. U.S. officials have also repeatedly emphasized that the agreement reached in the Vienna negotiations did not eliminate the military option against Iran. In response to these statements, officials from Hassan Rouhani's government have called for a change in U.S. policies towards Iran. Among them, Mohammad Javad Zarif, Iran's Foreign Minister, emphasized on August 15 that the U.S.'s "wrong" policies towards Iran have yielded "no results" and that now is a "unique opportunity" to "test a new path."