Iran on Saturday (October 22nd) accused the United States of supporting protests sparked more than a month ago after the death of Mahsa Amini to win concessions in talks to revive the 2015 nuclear deal.
The Islamic Republic has been rocked by a protest movement since September 16, after the death of this 22-year-old Iranian Kurd, who died three days after her arrest in Tehran by the morality police who accused her of having broken the strict dress code of the Islamic Republic.
Dozens of people, mainly protesters but also members of the security forces, were killed during these demonstrations.
Hundreds more, including women, have been arrested.
“
The Americans continue to exchange messages with us, but they are trying to stir up
” the protest movement, said Iranian Foreign Minister Hossein Amir-Abdollahian, during a visit to Armenia, in a video published on Saturday by his ministry.
Disagreements over nuclear weapons
The United States "is
trying to exert political and psychological pressure on Iran to obtain concessions in the negotiations
" on nuclear power, he said, referring to indirect discussions between Tehran and Washington, carried out thanks to EU mediation.
These negotiations, launched in April 2021, aim to revive the nuclear agreement signed in 2015 between the West and Iran, providing for the lifting of economic sanctions against Tehran, but from which former American President Donald Trump had withdrawn in 2018.
“
We will not make concessions to the Americans.
We will work within the framework of an agreement that respects the red lines of the Islamic Republic,
” added Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.
The United States and some European countries recently imposed sanctions on Iran, condemning Tehran's reaction to protests following the death of Mahsa Amini.
On October 13, Washington said a return to the 2015 agreement was not "
probable in the short term
".
“
We are focusing today on how to hold the (Iranian) regime accountable for what they are doing
” to the demonstrators, said John Kirby, spokesman for the White House National Security Council.
On Saturday, the head of Iranian diplomacy felt that "
Washington's words contradict its actions
".
"
Not only do the Americans consider the negotiations a priority, but they are in a hurry
" to conclude them, said Hossein Amir-Abdollahian.