Iranian President-elect Ebrahim Raisi with the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei
Endorsement ceremony of Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi is to be held today
Washington/Teheran/Jerusalem: Ahead of the Endorsement ceremony of Iran’s President-elect Ebrahim Raisi, which is to be held today – August 3, 2021 – in the presence of the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, Iran accused the UK Secretary of State for Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Affairs and US Secretary of State as well as Romania of making “baseless and provocative allegations”against Tehran, and rebutted accusations that Teheran was behind the attack against the Mercer Street, a commercial ship that was transiting through the north Arabian Sea in international waters.
The attack against the oil vessel was carried out on Thursday July 29 night in which two persons – British and Romanian civilians – were killed. One-way explosive UAVs was used in the attack and the USA said this was a lethal capability Iran was increasingly employing throughout the region. Incidentally no one claimed responsibility for the attack but Israeli officials were the first to allege that Tehran launched the drone strike.
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh on August 2, 2021 denied such charge and claimed their “coordinated statements included contradictory phrases so that they first accuse Iran without bringing any documents and then talk about its possibility”. On August 2, Iran’s Foreign Ministry summoned the British charge d’affaires in Tehran in the absence of that country’s ambassador, as well as Romanian envoy in Tehran in the wake of their respective country’s “baseless accusations” against Iran on the ship, Mercer Street.
However, what has compounded the problem is Iran’s outgoing President Dr. Hassan Rouhani’s admission that on August 1 in the last meeting of the Council of Ministers in the twelfth government, that he did not tell people “part of the truth” because he did not find them “useful” and he was “afraid that a very lofty goal that we should all pursue, which is national unity, would be harmed”. Dr. Rouhani had emphasised, “We endured many issues and did not respond to many criticisms in order to maintain national cohesion and national unity in the country”.
The statement came under global media’s scrutiny and posed a severe question mark over Iran’s credibility. There was little surprise therefore, that despite Iran’s denial of its involvement in the attack against the ship, the USA pitched in, claiming it was confident that Iran conducted the attack. Washington claimed it was working with its partners on an “appropriate response” and said it was also consulting with governments inside the region and beyond on an appropriate response, “which will be forthcoming”.
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According to the USA, the attack followed a pattern of attacks and other belligerent behaviour, which threatened “freedom of navigation through this crucial waterway, international shipping and commerce, and the lives of those on the vessels involved”.
Khatibzadeh, however, slammed “baseless allegations by the “Zionist regime” against Iran regrading attack on tanker”, saying the Israeli regime has brought about insecurity, terror everywhere. He described Iran as defender of safe passage of ships in the Persian Gulf and the international waters which has the largest border in the Persian Gulf and is ready to cooperate with regional states on maintaining maritime security.
“Iran considers presence and interference of trans-regional forces in the Persian Gulf and its littorals states as disturbing regional stability and security,” he added.
Khatibzadeh offered regret that while these countries had silently supported the terrorist attacks and sabotage of Iranian merchant ships in the Red Sea and international waters, in a clear political bias, they are making false accusations against Iran.
“Iran has no hesitation in protecting its security and national interests, and will respond promptly and seriously to any possible adventurism,” he declared.
Earlier, on July 31, 2021, Israel’s Minister of Foreign affairs Yair Lapid had spoken with US Secretary of State Antony Blinken to discuss the attack on the ship in the Gulf of Oman, joint activity against Iranian terrorism and the formulation of a real and effective international response. Lapid had also spoken over the weekend with his counterparts in Britain and Romania.
Lapid had gone to the extent of saying that the Iranians, who attacked the ship ‘Mercer Street’ with unmanned aerial vehicles, intended to attack an Israeli target. Instead, their act of piracy led to the deaths of a British citizen and a Romanian citizen.
“I just heard that Iran, in a cowardly manner, is trying to evade responsibility for the event. They are denying this. Then, I determine, with absolute certainty – Iran carried out the attack against the ship. Iran’s thuggishness endangers not only Israel, but also harms global interests, namely freedom of navigation and international trade,” Lapid had said at the start of the weekly Cabinet meeting on August 1.
“The intelligence evidence for this exists and we expect the international community will make it clear to the Iranian regime that they have made a serious mistake. In any case, we know how to send a message to Iran in our own way, he had said.
Reacting to the Israel’s allegations against Iran regarding attack on Israeli tanker, Khatibzadeh had advised the “Zionist regime” to set aside these accusations. “This is not the first time that the Israeli regime makes such allegations against Iran…these blame games will have no result,” he noted.
Regarding some requests made by the US President aiming not to let Iran president-elect Ebrahim Raisi, a protégé of Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, attend UN annual meeting, Khatibzadeh said that the US administration should be aware of the fact that it has definitive hosting responsibilities for the United Nations Headquarters in New York and, regardless of its differences with countries and should act within that framework.
“Of course, this is not strange, and the Zionist lobby in the United States is using every opportunity to make accusations against Iran,” he reiterated.
On US allegations against Iranians for circumventing sanctions, he said what is happening is US’ blatant and bullying hostage taking. Releasing and return of Iranian prisoners in the US is a priority for Iran, he stated.
Meanwhile, speaking in a meeting with senior officials on the last day of his Government on August 2, 2021, the outgoing Iranian President Dr. Hassan Rouhani had said that he considered moderation and constructive interaction at home and abroad as the solution to solve Iran’s problems and salvation, and added, “We cannot make progress by extremism and defaming and insulting each other. The era of extremism is over and this is the path of moderation that will never end.” He asserted: “I repeat that the way to save the country is moderation at home and abroad and constructive interaction at home and abroad”.
Dr. Rouhani said, “When the reactionaries in the region, the Zionists and the American extremists saw that Iran was progressing and succeeding on the basis of negotiations, they started their obstructions in the region in the first step. As we saw, Mosul fell in 2014 and the things happened to Iran’s neighbours like Iraq, Lebanon and Syria, and we commemorate Martyr General Soleimani, who did great things in those days”.
According to him, the ill-wishers of the Islamic Republic did not think that Iran could even negotiate in those circumstances and in the midst of crises, let alone succeed, but when they saw that the negotiations were bearing fruit, they intensified their efforts by reducing the price of oil to put us under pressure.
Dr. Rouhani said that the Government of Prudence and Hope did not allow the impulses caused by these crises to defeat the country, saying, “We reached an agreement under these pressures and hardships, but the enemies and ill-wishers did not sit relaxed after the agreement and started a new round of efforts to break the agreement”.
– global bihari bureau
