PHOTO: Supreme Leader’s top aide Ali Akbar Velayati (right) with UN envoy Tadamichi Yamamoto on Sunday
Iran is continuing to seek advantage from Donald Trump’s ban on entry to the US by citizens of seven mainly-Muslim countries, with the top aide of Iran’s Supreme Leader saying the measure will only hurt America.
Ali Akbar Velayati used a meeting with a UN envoy on Sunday to assert:
If Iranians travel to a country, their dignity must be respected and such moves will undoubtedly be harmful to the future of the US.
Iranians have always lived with dignity and do not need Trump or any other person from the government of the United States of America to give them permission to enter or not.
Velayati added that Iranians are proud of the fact that they do not need to be endorsed by “unbalanced” individuals such as Trump.
On Saturday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif put out a series of tweets highlighting a Foreign Ministry statement about Trump’s “clear insult to the Muslim world”. He contrasted Trump’s “great gift to extremists and their supporters” with Iran’s pursuit of “dialogue and coperation to address the roots of violence and extremism in a comprehensive and inclusive manner”.
See Iran Daily, Jan 29: Tehran Takes Advantage of Trump’s Muslim Ban
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Velayati also said he had held “direct and constructive” talks with the UN special representative for Afghanistan, Tadamichi Yamamoto. He told reporters that both sides believe that a military approach will fail to solve the Afghan issue and that peaceful means and political dialogue among different groups in the country are the only solution.
Velayati added that the Islamic Republic opposes intervention by any country in Afghanistan’s internal affairs.
