Iranian official criticizes Europe for "sacrificing interests" under U.S. pressure

TEHRAN, Oct. 6 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister Ali Bagheri Kani on Thursday criticized the European countries for sacrificing their interests under U.S. pressures, the official IRNA news agency reported.

Making the remarks during his Europe tour in the Hungarian capital Budapest, Bagheri Kani said that despite the long-term contracts signed with the Iranian sides and only because of U.S. pressures, Europeans have preferred the interests of the U.S. over the interests of European nations, according to the report.

"They (Europeans) severely reduce their economic relations with Iran," he said, adding that however, "Iran will not remain idle and will pursue its interests in any way it can."

Bagheri Kani, who is also Iran's chief nuclear negotiator, expressed hope that the Europeans "realize their strategic mistake in blindly following the United States in confrontation with the Iranian nation."

Iran has blamed Europe's "inaction" in the face of the U.S. pullout from the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying that Europe took no effective measure against U.S. "cruel" sanctions on Tehran after Washington unilateral withdrew from the deal in 2018.