“Instead of making empty and disingenuous offers, @SecPompeo can accept any of the many requests from Iranian reporters to interview US officials. He has refused till now, as he knows he has to be accountable to rigorous questioning—the very same way I am by the US media,” Zarif tweeted on Wednesday.
“SecPompeo will then have to explain why he—& his boss: Call Iran a terrorist nation; Distort historical name of PERSIAN GULF to grovel to client regimes; Distort even the BIBLE to kowtow to a B_Team member; Employ Economic Terrorism against entire Iranian people; and …,” he added in a follow-up post.
The Iranian foreign minister’s comments came in reaction to Pompeo’s offer to visit Iran and go on Iranian television and speak directly to the Iranian nation, which he and US President Donald Trump have called a “terrorist nation.”
Asked if he would be willing to go to Tehran, Pompeo said in a July 25 interview with Bloomberg TV, “Sure. If that’s the call, I’d happily go there… I would welcome the chance to speak directly to the Iranian people.”
Pompeo said he would accept any offer to go on Iranian television as Zarif Iran has appeared on US television.
In response to Pompeo, Mohammad Marandi, a professor at the University of Tehran, tweeted on Wednesday, “I propose a 45 minute interview in conversation form with @SecPompeo during one of his foreign trips. It can take place in a non-governmental building through a major media outlet independent of the US”.
