Iran, US exchange messages in late Sept in New York: Spox

Tehran, IRNA – The spokesman for Iran's Ministry of Foreign Affairs told reporters on Monday that some messages were exchanged between Tehran and Washington on the sidelines of the 77th United Nations General Assembly held in September in New York. Speaking to reporters at his weekly press conference, Nasser Kanaani said the UN General Assembly was a good opportunity for talks on the removal of the sanctions. Through mediators, Iran and the United States exchanged messages on the sidelines of the session, Kanaani noted. Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi accompanied by a delegation attended the 77th UNGA meeting on September 20-26. The Islamic Republic is faithful to achieving a good and strong agreement, Kanaani underlined adding that Tehran has already responded to the final text. Answering a question about the aggression against the Iranian embassies abroad, the spokesman said some of Iran’s representative offices in European countries have been aggressed by certain individuals and groups attributed as opponents, anti-Revolution, and pro-violence. According to Vienna Convention, countries have to provide security for foreign embassies, the spokesman announced adding that the Iranian Foreign Ministry via telephone contacts has stressed the necessity of ensuring the security of its embassies. Under the pretext of political protest, some have threatened the diplomats and taken aggressive behavior, he underlined. They were after disrupting normal activities of the Iranian embassies, but the embassies are now in good condition and resumed their work, he said. Regarding terrorist activities in the Iraqi Kurdistan region which has border crossings with Iran, the spokesman stated that Iraqi soil should not be used as a place for violating Iran’s territory. The Islamic Republic of Iran was the first country that rushed for helping Iraq in the most difficult conditions when the neighboring country was under the attacks of terrorist groups, including Daesh (the ISIS), he stressed, adding that Iraq should be cleared from terrorist groups that have set bases near the Iranian borders and threatened security. Iran has written officially to the Iraqi officials to clear their soil from the terrorist groups, he underlined. Touching upon the issue of frozen assets, Kanaani said Iran’s blocked assets have to be released and the country has been holding serious talks with South Korea to do so. He went on to say that good talks on the issue are underway and the details will be released later. Elsewhere, he said the anti-Revolution media out of the country have turned into a factory to produce lies and manage threatening operations. Their measures were unconventional, the spokesman noted. About the Yemen developments, the spokesman said the Yemen issue is an important one and that war in Yemen was unnecessary. He went on to stress that the ceasefire is an effective step to solve the Yemen crisis. Iran welcomes the UN mission and completion of the political process in Yemen, he said. In his remarks, the spokesman referred to the release of an Iranian pilgrim who had been arrested in Saudi Arabia under the baseless accusation during the major Hajj rituals and said that he returned home following the efforts taken by the Foreign Ministry and Hajj and Pilgrimage Organization of Iran. Also, he said that the Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amirabdollahian has held talks with his Swiss and Belgium counterparts in New York on the release of two Iranian nationals who as he noted have been detained there illegally. Again, the spokesman pointed to the issue of sanctions and underlined that the United States should put its addiction to sanctions aside and follow constructive behavior. The imposition of the new sanctions indicates that the US administration suffers from duality, he said. Also about the recent events across the country, Kanaani said the Judiciary and Ministry of Interior are doing their duties and following up on the developments. At the end of his remarks, the spokesman noted that issues of prisoners and talks are not interrelated. Follow us on Twitter @IrnaEnglish