Agencies, Tehran
Iran on Tuesday said it is monitoring the change in US stance after President Donald Trump said Washington was not looking for “regime change” in Iran but is only interested in preventing Tehran from getting nuclear weapons.
Asked about the statement made by President Trump in Tokyo indicating a shift in the US stance, Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said that Tehran will decide based on what is observed in the region.
He said that US needed to give up rhetoric and alter its approach and behaviour.
Earlier on Monday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a Twitter post said Iran was not seeking nuclear weapons and accused the US, which has beefed up its military presence in the Middle East, of causing regional tensions and “hurting the Iranian people”.
Trump said that a deal with Iran on its nuclear programme was possible, crediting economic sanctions for curbing activities Washington has said are behind a spate of attacks in the Middle East.
“We aren’t looking for regime change – I just want to make that clear. We are looking for no nuclear weapons,” Trump told reporters during a news conference with Japan’s Prime Minister Shinzo Abe in Tokyo.
“I really believe that Iran would like to make a deal, and I think that’s very smart of them, and I think that’s a possibility to happen,” he said.
“It has a chance to be a great country with the same leadership.”
In response, Zarif tweeted: “Actions – not words – will show whether or not that’s @realDonaldTrump’s intent,” Zarif added, referencing the US president’s Twitter handle.
Mousavi noted that the Iranian Foreign Ministry had started fresh diplomatic moves after US withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and referred to Zarif’s visits to Syria, Turkmenistan, India, China and Japan in this regard.