TEHRAN – A former Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman has said that the intention behind the U.S. “Plan B” is to incite a schism between European countries over Iran. 

After the U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, the country laid out what Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called “Plan B” as its new strategy for Iran. Pompeo’s “Plan B” was to reinstate the sanctions against Iran in order to pressure the country into accepting negotiations for an entirely new deal with broader constraints.

In an interview with ISNA published on Saturday, Ramin Mehmanparast said that the U.S., along with Israel, is to carry out the anti-Iran “Plan B” in a symbolic gesture on the anniversary of the day when revolutionary students captured the den of spies_ as they called the U.S. Embassy_ in Tehran in 1979.

“Thirteenth of Aban [Nov. 4] is the symbol of the U.S.’s hostility towards the Iranian nation. The Iranian people have bitter memories of the U.S.’s interferences in their country [’s affairs].”  

Mehmanparast said, “The U.S. president pulled out of the JCPOA to put lots of pressure on Iran, but his true intention is to retaliate against the nation who has remained independent for 40 years while standing firm against sanctions.”

Nonetheless, many of the European countries did not accompany Trump in his anti-Iran policies, he added.

Mehmanparast noted that the U.S. means to hinder cooperation between Europe and Iran; hence it tries to damage Iran’s credibility with European countries. 

As an example, Mehmanparast pointed to a recent diplomatic rift between Denmark and Iran, for which, he said, anti-Iran terrorist groups had set the stage.

SP