TEHRAN -- The Foreign Ministry Spokesman, Hamid-Reza Assefi condemned the remarks of the U.S. defense Minister saying that, "It is better for the U.S. officials to respect the rights of the nations to determine their own destiny rather than expressing their baseless remarks about different nations." Donald Ramsfeld ,U.S. Defense Minister, in an interview with the Fax news channel, at the end of the last week said, "It is not impossible for Iranian people to topple the government." Assefi said, "The U.S. has become an axis of hegemony and follows the policy of escalating tension and crisis in the world."

He stressed that Iranian nation has chosen the path to democracy following the triumph of the 1979 Islamic Revolution and campaign against domination by foreigners, including the U.S.,adding that Iranian nation considered the 'insulting and interventionist' statements of the American officials as 'arrogant fantasies'. "The U.S. government had better take lessons from history of its relations with Iran and the candid and clear responses of Iranian nation to Washington's interferences and threats and not to repeat such 'baseless' claims."