Foreign Ministry slams US presidents' using of Iran as campaign cudgel for own gains
Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh says US presidents use Iran as a "campaign cudgel" for their own gains, deriding Donald Trump for retweeting a fake account against Tehran.
Khatibzadeh on Wednesday pointed to Trump's republishing of a tweet from a fake account and said, "US presidents have long used Iran as campaign cudgel. But we're reaching new lows."
He added, "One day, @realdonaldtrump expresses wishful fantasies of a call from Tehran. The next, he spreads wild conspiracy theories from a fake account run by a terrorist cult. #MAGA one tweet at a time."
US presidents have long used Iran as campaign cudgel. But we're reaching new lows:
— Saeed Khatibzadeh (@SKhatibzadeh) October 14, 2020
One day, @realdonaldtrump expresses wishful fantasies of a call from Tehran. The next, he spreads wild conspiracy theories from a fake account run by a terrorist cult. #MAGA one tweet at a time pic.twitter.com/uwenCPMYxe
MAGA stands for the slogan of "Make America Great Again," which is used in American politics and was popularized by Donald Trump in his successful 2016 presidential campaign.
Khatibzadeh's tweet refers to American officials' passing of a direct telephone number in May 2019 for the White House to the Swiss government, whose embassy represents US interests in Tehran since 1980, in hopes that Iran will contact him.
Trump publicly appealed to Iran to call him, CNN reported, amid heightened tensions between Tehran and Washington.
While Trump called for talks, he did not rule out military action against Iran at the time.
Tensions rose between Tehran and Washington after the latter withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in 2018 and reimposed unilateral sanctions that had been lifted under the landmark 2015 nuclear agreement.
Both during his election campaign and after taking office as president, Trump spared no effort to deride and kill the landmark agreement as the worst deal ever.
Iran and other signatories to the JCPOA -- the UK, France, Russia, China and Germany – say there is no alternative to the deal, which has been endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
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