Iran said yesterday the winner of US presidential elections, Democrat or Republican, had to ease Washington's critical stance towards the Islamic state and stop using threats to force policy decisions. Foreign Ministry spokesman Hamid Reza Asefi said Washington's approach since the 1979 Islamic revolution that toppled the US-backed shah had not been successful. "The winner should learn from the past and understand that using threats and forceful language is not effective for Iran," Asefi told a weekly news conference.
| Funny, they don't seem to understand anything else. |
Democratic challenger John Kerry is certain unlikely to ease pressure on Iran, which will remain a key US foreign policy challenge whoever wins Tuesday's vote. But he has signalled an interest in greater engagement with Iran. Asefi said Iran did not favour either candidate. "Based on our experiences, they both have been in favour of pressuring Iran," he said.
| "And that Kerry guy, offering uranium to us that we don't even need! The pressure is enormous!" |
Asefi denied US media reports that it has given shelter to Al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, saying the charge was nothing more than pre-election hysteria. "Neither bin Laden nor any other extremist member of Al Qaeda is present in Iran, except a few middle-ranking members who are being held in prison," he said. "It seems that as we reach the high point in the US election, that country's papers have the duty to fabricate news ... It is only to cover up the US shortcomings in fighting terrorism," he said.
The spokesman also rejected recent EU criticism of a deteriorating human rights situation in the country as "unreal, biased, hasty and undocumented." "The declaration is politicised, unreal and biased, hasty and undocumented, showing the European Parliament's ignorance of the Islamic Republic," he said.
| "Fools! They know us not!" |
The European Parliament on Thursday passed a motion voicing alarm over the deteriorating rights situation in Iran, especially that of Press freedom and death penalty.ÂÂ
| Finally noticed the mullahs executing the little girls, did they? |
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