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Iran Dismisses Trump-Netanyahu Comments as ‘Nonsense’ - ASHARQ AL-AWSAT English Archive
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London- Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi has snapped back at U.S. President Donald Trump and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu by describing their comments on Iran’s nuclear weapons as “nonsense.”

Israel’s atomic arsenal is the biggest danger to world peace, Ghasemi said Thursday.

The Iranian official spoke a day after Trump vowed to prevent Iran developing a nuclear weapon.

Trump had warned Wednesday after meeting Netanyahu in Washington that the “threat of Iran’s nuclear ambitions” was one of the major security challenges facing Israel.

The U.S. president told reporters that he would do “more to prevent Iran from ever developing — I mean ever — a nuclear weapon.”

Under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama, the U.S. and five other world powers reached a 2015 deal with Iran to lift sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.

Trump himself has repeatedly denounced the historic accord as “one of the worst deals I’ve ever seen.”

A war of words has been escalating between Tehran and Washington since even before Trump took office in January.

Last week, the Trump administration ordered sanctions against more than two dozen people and companies in retaliation for Iran’s recent ballistic missile test.

Iran has test-fired several ballistic missiles since the 2015 deal, but the latest test on January 29 was the first since Trump entered the White House.

The European Union’s foreign policy chief, Federica Mogherini, said last week she was reassured during meetings with Trump’s administration that it was committed to full implementation of the Iran nuclear deal.

Earlier this month, U.S. Vice President Mike Pence issued a stern warning to Iran in an interview with ABC News Chief Anchor George Stephanopoulos.

“Iran would do well not to test the resolve of this new president,” Pence said on “This Week”, adding that Iran should “think twice about their continued hostile and belligerent actions.”

Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat

Asharq Al-Awsat is the world’s premier pan-Arab daily newspaper, printed simultaneously each day on four continents in 14 cities. Launched in London in 1978, Asharq Al-Awsat has established itself as the decisive publication on pan-Arab and international affairs, offering its readers in-depth analysis and exclusive editorials, as well as the most comprehensive coverage of the entire Arab world.

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