Iran said on Monday it reserves all rights to take any measure to respond to a recent attack on an Iranian cargo ship in the Mediterranean Sea.
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh pointed finger at the Zionist entity for last week’s attack on the container ship belonging to the Islamic Republic of Iran Shipping Line (IRIS) Group, noting that the incident is under investigation.
“Given the geographical location of corruptive attack it is possible that this terrorist act was carried out by the Zionist regime. Whenever the region moves toward peace, this [Israeli] regime tries to create unrest for a clear reason,” the Iranian diplomat said in a press conference, as quoted by Mehr news agency.
He stressed that Iran “reserves the right to use all its options to respond to the attack once the perpetrators are identified.”
The cargo ship was damaged after it was targeted by a terrorist attack en route to Europe in the Mediterranean Sea last week. The vessel’s hull sustained slight damage, and those aboard were unharmed. A small fire broke out in the aftermath of the explosion, which was quickly put out by the crew members.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Khatibzadeh referred to recent comments by the head of the International Atomic Energy Agency Rafael Grossi, saying the UN nuclear watchdog should observe impartiality in commenting on technical issues about the Iranian nuclear program to ensure mutual cooperation.
“Monitoring Iran’s nuclear activities is a technical issue. Iran has provided required access under the IAEA Safeguards Agreement. We gave other accesses in the framework of Additional Protocol which was halted with parliamentary legislation. We made also a three-month agreement opening a diplomatic window,” the spokesman said.
Regarding the next meeting of the Joint Commission of the 2015 nuclear deal, he said the timing is not scheduled yet.
Meanwhile, he called on Washington to scrap its anti-Iranian sanctions and guarantee that the former US president’s mistakes will never be repeated.
“The US should lift sanctions on Iran and also should give guarantees that (Donald) Trump’s mistakes will not happen again, then we can talk within the framework of the JCPOA [Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action]”, Khatibzadeh told reporters as quoted by Sputnik news agency.
He was referring to the official name of the nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
Source: Agencies
