Iran Rejects Report on Request for US Consular Services
According To Iran News, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Seyed Abbas Mousavi vehemently rejected a report claiming that Tehran has recently called for the creation of a US consular service in the Swiss embassy in Tehran.
In remarks released on Monday, the Iranian spokesman dismissed as untrue the report published by the Wall Street Journal.
“A US official said Iran had recently asked for the creation of a consular service through the Swiss, who represent US interests in Tehran,” the report said on Sunday.
“Iran, this US official said, hopes the consular service can be used to facilitate negotiations over prisoner swaps,” it added.
The remarks come against the backdrop of increased tensions between Iran and the US with Washington imposing new sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
The US has ratcheted up pressure on Iran since last year after withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Since then, the administration of US President Donald Trump is trying to reduce Iran’s oil exports to “zero,” and has sent an aircraft carrier strike group, a bomber squad, an amphibious assault ship, and a Patriot missile battery to the Middle East to try to stack up pressure on Tehran.
Iranian officials, however, have dismissed such moves as psychological warfare, saying the country has its own ways of circumventing the American bans and selling crude oil.
