Iran General NewsUS calls on Iran to come clean over president's...

US calls on Iran to come clean over president’s past

-

AFP: The United States pressed Iran Thursday to come clean over the past of its new president-elect, amid charges he played a key role in taking US diplomats hostage in Tehran 26 years ago. The State Department issued the call after President George W. Bush said the accusation leveled by five former hostages against Iranian hardliner Mahmood Ahmadinejad “raises many questions.” AFP

WASHINGTON – The United States pressed Iran Thursday to come clean over the past of its new president-elect, amid charges he played a key role in taking US diplomats hostage in Tehran 26 years ago.

The State Department issued the call after President George W. Bush said the accusation leveled by five former hostages against Iranian hardliner Mahmood Ahmadinejad “raises many questions.”

“The Iranian government, with respect to this question, has an obligation to speak definitively concerning these questions that have been raised in public by these stories,” said department spokesman Sean McCormack.

“I want to assure you that we are going to look into this question seriously,” McCormack said.

“We, as a government, are working to establish the facts surrounding this story.

“But I do want to say one thing, and that is to underscore the fact that we have not forgotten — we have not forgotten — the fact that 51 of our diplomats were held for 444 days, that they were taken hostage.”

McCormack said the United States was involved in a “government-wide effort” to investigate the allegations against Ahmadinejad. “I would expect that we will, as best we can, seek to speak to some of the former hostages.”

But he appeared to minimize chances for any direct contact on the matter with Iran, which has no diplomatic ties with Washington and is a member of Bush’s “axis of evil.”

Asked whether the administration would query Tehran, McCormack said: “I think what we will do is, as a government, we will do our best to establish the facts with the people here in the United States, including the hostages.”

A senior State Department official, who asked not to be named, said US officials “need to scrub the files, go back and make sure that we know everything that is possible to know about this.”

Latest news

 Statistics show that New Year accidents’ deaths in Iran reached 585

Ahmad Shirani, the head of the Information and Traffic Control Center of the Iranian regime’s police, announced that the...

Land Subsidence in Critical Conditions in Isfahan

Mehdi Toghyani, a member of the Iranian regime’s Majlis (parliament), pointed to the occurrence of land subsidence in various...

Iran’s Actual Inflation Rate Higher Than Official Stats

The state-run Donya-e-eqtesad newspaper, in a report analyzing the "general sentiment" regarding inflation in 2023, has stated that households...

Iranian Workers’ Monthly $136 Wages Can’t Cover $500 Expenses

The lives of a significant portion of the Iranian population are marked by uncertainty, largely because the Iranian economy...

Iranian Nurses Earn Twice Their Wages in Ride-Hailing Services

Reza Aryanpour, a member of the regime’s Majlis (parliament) Health and Treatment Commission, highlighted the growing trend of nurses...

Iran: Unprecedented Record of 152 Million Liters of Gasoline Consumption Per Day

On March 19, Iran set a new historical record in gasoline consumption with 152 million liters consumed in one...

Must read

Over five million Iraqis voice support for Iran opposition group

Iran Focus: Ashraf City, Iraq, Jun. 18 – More...

Assassinations, Iranian connection spread fear in Iraq

Newsday: Most troubling for U.S. policy in the Middle...

You might also likeRELATED
Recommended to you