Iran's Reaction to Kerry's Remarks: 'Influenced by Zionists, Baseless and Exaggerated'

In another reaction to the recent statements by the U.S. Secretary of State, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry stated that 'the baseless and exaggerated remarks of American officials' regarding Iran's nuclear program are made 'under pressure from Zionist lobbies.' On Tuesday, the U.S. Secretary of State defended the nuclear agreement with Iran in Philadelphia, stating that when nuclear negotiations resumed, everyone in the U.S. government was aware that Iran had become 'a country on the verge of becoming nuclear.' He also mentioned that without this agreement, the time for Iran to acquire the necessary materials to build a nuclear bomb was 'about two months,' but with this agreement, that time has increased to one year, and Iran will remain at this level for a decade or more. These remarks angered Ayatollah Khamenei, the leader of Iran, who, in a meeting with members of the Assembly of Experts, pointed out the role of the U.S. in the negotiations between Iran and the six world powers, stating that 'the main party for us is the U.S. government, but American officials speak very poorly, and the nature of such remarks must be clarified.' Immediately following these comments, Ali Akbar Velayati, an international advisor to Ayatollah Khamenei, reacted to John Kerry's statements, saying that 'the history of Americans in dealing with the Islamic Republic is very bad, so Mr. Kerry's remarks against Iran were not unexpected.' Now, Marzieh Afkham, the spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry, has also stated that 'American officials, under pressure from Zionist lobbies, have a habit of occasionally making baseless and exaggerated statements regarding Iran's nuclear program.' According to ISNA news agency, she added, 'The claim that Iran was on the verge of acquiring a nuclear bomb is a big lie. The Islamic Republic of Iran, based on the fatwa of the Supreme Leader and its defensive doctrine, has never sought to acquire a nuclear bomb and will not do so.' The spokesperson did not only respond to this part of Mr. Kerry's remarks. Ms. Afkham also referred to the U.S. Secretary of State's comments regarding sanctions, stating that the Islamic Republic's diplomacy 'proved the ineffectiveness of sanctions and forced the U.S. to come to the negotiating table.' This was a reaction to Mr. Kerry's statement that placing Iran under the toughest economic sanctions was the response that the U.S. government had to face Iran's nuclearization. However, Mr. Kerry acknowledged that the U.S. was clearly faced with the reality that 'not only are sanctions alone not enough to end the work, but they are not even close.' He also added that sanctions have not been successful in slowing down or stopping Iran's move towards 'nuclear weapon capability.' The spokesperson for Iran's Foreign Ministry considered these remarks as part of the achievements of the Islamic Republic's diplomacy.