Baku, Azerbaijan, Apr. 2
By Umid Niayesh - Trend:
Iran's defense minister, Brigadier General Hossein Dehghan has called his US counterpart comments "empty, repetitive and worthless."
Earlier, the US Defense Secretary Ashton Carter said the use of military force against Iran will be an option if a deal cannot be reached over limiting the Islamic Republic's nuclear program.
Iranian defense minister said that the US officials always repeat similar remarks, adding it indicates the US side's passive stance.
Dehghan further said that the comment which was made at the complicated and sensitive time of the nuclear talks aimed at impressing the "rational atmosphere" of the negotiations, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported April 2.
Iran and the P5+1 (the US, UK, France, Russia, China, and Germany) are negotiating in Lausanne, Switzerland to achieve a comprehensive agreement on the Islamic Republic's nuclear program by July 1.
They were to reach a political understanding by March 31, but the negotiators decided to continue their talks on April 1. The talks extended to April 2 after the parties failed to achieve an agreement.
Dehghan emphasized that the US defense secretary's comments will not affect the Islamic Republic's "rational, logical and fair" stance in the nuclear issue.
He also said that Iran is already prepared to give a decisive response to any hostile threat of aggressors.
The US and its Western allies suspect Iran of developing a nuclear weapon, something that Iran denies.
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