Iran's FM : US stance on Iran contradictory

Iranian Foreign Minister Ali-Akbar Salehi said the United States' claims about seeking negotiations with the Islamic republic over its nuclear issue and mutual problems do not go with the Americans' sustained hostility toward Iran, Press TV reported Tuesday. "Some American officials and administrations usually act contrary to their declared stances (towards Iran)," Salehi said in a reaction to the recent remarks by the US officials on the possibility of talks with Iran and also recent sanctions against the country. On Thursday, the administration of US President Barack Obama revved up the pressure on Iran over its controversial nuclear program by imposing sanctions on seven more entities and five individuals who were accused of providing the Iranian government with "unique goods, technology and services that increase the regime's ability to enrich uranium and/or to construct a heavy water research reactor." One day later, however, Western media reported that the Obama administration was preparing to have direct talks with Iran over its nuclear program. They said that both Obama and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had hinted at the initiation of Iran-U.S. bilateral talks in the following months as a means to find ways to settle the mutual problems and nuclear issue of the Middle East country. The Iranian foreign minister said Tehran is closely watching Washington's contradictory behavior, adding that the Islamic republic has not observed any change in the antagonistic policies of the United States vis-a-vis Iran, according to Press TV. "Their spying drones violate Iran's airspace...; they violate all legal, moral and international laws by imposing the most unprecedented unilateral sanctions...; they collaborate in the assassination of our scientific elite or arrest our innocent citizens such as our university professors... and after all these actions against the Iranian nation, they raise the issue of direct negotiations," Salehi was quoted as saying.