DUBAI, June 1 (Reuters) – Iran on Monday blamed a lack of trust, Washington’s contradictory positions and continued Israeli attacks in the region for the slow pace of efforts to end the conflict between the US and Iran.
“The negotiations began amidst grave suspicion and distrust, and the exchange of messages is taking place in this atmosphere,” Foreign Ministry spokesperson Esmaeil Baghaei said, adding that the two countries have not yet reached a final conclusion.
‘The other party is constantly changing its points of view and presenting new or contradictory demands (…) it is natural that this situation prolongs the negotiations’, he added.
Baghaei said that if mixed messages were part of a U.S. negotiating tactic, they would not work with Iran; but if they reflect the disorder in the US administration, Washington should reach a clear and definitive position as quickly as possible.
Baghaei stated that Tehran views Israeli actions in the region, including in Lebanon, as inseparable from US actions, adding that any agreement to end the regional conflict would have to include the implementation of the ceasefire in Lebanon.
His comments on Lebanon followed an order from Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu for the military to resume attacks on the southern suburbs of Beirut, a Hezbollah stronghold known as Dahiyeh.
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Baghaei added that there have not yet been any negotiations on the details of the nuclear file and said Tehran is pursuing its main demand for the release of its frozen funds.
He accused the US of violating the ceasefire through attacks on Iran’s southern provinces, saying such conduct deepened mistrust and gave Iran the right to take reciprocal defensive measures in accordance with the principle of self-defense.
The US said it attacked Iranian military installations over the weekend, and Iran’s Revolutionary Guard said on Monday it targeted a US base in Kuwait in response.
‘Learn from the past and do not let the US and Israel use their capabilities against Iran’, warned Baghaei to countries in the region.
(Reporting by Dubai Newsroom)
