TEHRAN (Pakistan Point News / Sputnik - 02nd June, 2019) Washington should change its erroneous approach to Tehran, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Seyyed Abbas Mousavi said on Sunday, commenting on US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo's remark about possible negotiations between the two countries.
During a press conference in Switzerland earlier in the day, Pompeo said that Washington was ready for talks with Tehran without preconditions, but noted that the United States would continue to fundamentally counteract Tehran's "malign activity."
"The fact that Mr. Pompeo reiterated [the United States' focus on] maximum pressure on Iran suggests that [Washington] continues to adhere to its old erroneous approach that has to be changed," Mousavi said on Telegram.
According to the spokesman, what is important for Tehran is a fundamental change in Washington's behavior and attitude toward Iran in practice instead of a wordplay.
Tensions between Washington and Tehran have been running high recently. The United States has in recent weeks stepped up its forces in the middle East in what US National Security Adviser John Bolton has called a clear and unmistakable message to Iran. The new US deployments in the region include an aircraft carrier strike group, Patriot missiles, B-52 bombers and F-15 fighters, according to the Pentagon.
