Iran's UN envoy Majid Takht-Ravanchi says he cannot believe the United States' "claim" about its willingness to "cooperate" with Iran.
Mr Takht-Ravanchi made the statement shortly after U.S. President Donald Trump said on Wednesday January 8 that Iran and the United States "should work together" on "the destruction of ISIS " and "other shared priorities."
"The destruction of ISIS is good for Iran, and we should work together on this and other shared priorities," Trump said in a televised address on Wednesday, adding, "To the people and leaders of Iran: We want you to have a future and a great future. One that you deserve, one of prosperity at home, and harmony with the nations of the world. The United States is ready to embrace peace with all who seek it."
Speaking about the United States' mixed messages to Iran, Takht-Ravanchi said: "The United States has exerted a lot of pressure on the Iranian people by imposing sanctions, and killed Qods Force Commander Qassem Soleimani a few days ago," Official news agency IRNA quoted him as saying on Thursday.
He reminded that President Trump has promised even more sanctions will be imposed on Iran in the same speech he called for cooperation with Tehran. "Their claims are nor believable," Takht-Ravanchi said.
As yet another example of mixed messages by Washington, the United States ambassador to the United Nations Kelly Craft sent a letter to the UN Security Council about the killing of Soleimani adding that the U.S. will take other measures too "if needed," but at the same time reiterated that Washington is prepared for "serious negotiations" with Tehran.
Takht-Ravanchi responded that "The U.S. government does not want to negotiate. As long as Washington continues its enmity against the people of Iran, its claims about cooperation will not be heard."
Conspiracy theorists on social media say Iran's missile attacks on U.S. targets in Iraq were not meant to cause real damage. In the real world, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif's statement about informing Iraqi officials of the attack beforehand leaves no doubt that Iran wanted to minimize casualties and damage to the targets.
Pictures released by individuals close to the revolutionary guards show that the missile attacks on Ain al-Assad were minimal and caused very little damage.
This comes while Iran's state TV still insists that at least 80 U.S. troops have been killed in the attack. A reporter who Iranian activists say is close to security forces put the number at 270!
On the ground or on social media, informed individuals such as President Donald Trump have perceived the Iranian leadership's handling of the attack as a sign of "standing down." Immediately after the attacks, Trump twitted that "All is well!"
However, Takht-Ravanchi says "talks about cooperation are not understandable and the people of Iran will not be deceived by such games."
In the meantime, while the United States is going to impose even more sanctions on Iran, many on Iranian social media believe there is not much left to be sanctioned. Meanwhile, the Guardian wrote on Thursday that the current sanctions have exerted such an immense pressure on Iran that new sanctions do not appear to be able to further affect the country's economy.
Iranian Central Bank Governor Abdolnasser Hemmati has characterized the U.S. promise to impose more sanctions as a "hollow drum," and claimed that the Central Bank has managed to "manage" the situation but did not explain how.
