TEHRAN, March 14 - Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qassemi downplayed US President Donald Trump’s move to fire Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, saying that such dismissals are not something new in the Trump administration.
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club (YJC) - Speaking to reporters in Tehran on Wednesday during his last weekly press conference in the current Iranian year (which will end on March 20), Qassemi replied to a question about Tillerson’s dismissal and said such changes and dismissals are not anything new.
“We have witnessed these frequent developments and it is a matter of their internal affairs,” he said, adding that what is important to the Islamic Republic is the US policies on international issues and its behavior toward Iran.
The spokesman went on to say that Tehran will monitor the policies and adopt stances on them accordingly.
Qassemi further refused to say anything about the connection of Tillerson’s dismissal with the US-North Korea talks but said the Islamic Republic welcomes any dialogue or effort to restore international peace and stability.
Trump fired Tillerson on Tuesday and replaced him with CIA Director Mike Pompeo.
In December, the secretary of state offered to begin direct talks with Pyongyang without preconditions.
The White House - which insisted North Korea must first accept any negotiations would be about giving up its nuclear arsenal - distanced itself from his remarks.
Tillerson was reported to be astonished at how little Trump grasped the basics of foreign policy, according to media reports.
Source: Tasnim