Senior commander: US should compensate for animosities against Iran

Deputy Chief of Staff of the Iranian Armed Forces for Cultural Affairs and Defense Publicity Brigadier General Massoud Jazayeri condemned Washington for its hostilities against Tehran, and said the US should compensate for its animosities before speaking about talks and ties with the Islamic Republic. "The US is highly indebted to the Islamic Republic of Iran and has no way but to pay them," Jazayeri said on Wednesday. He referred to the US support for the 8-year Iraqi-imposed war against Iran (1980-1988), attacking the Iranian oil platforms and the shooting down of the Iranian passenger plane by the US in 1988 as some instances of the US crimes against Tehran, and said the US should make up for them. The Iranian passenger jet Airbus 655 that was flying from Bandar Abbas, Iran to Dubai, the United Arab Emirates, on July 3 1988, with 290 passengers onboard was shot down by the American USS Vincennes missile cruiser. All the passengers lost their lives with the remaining of their bodies floating on the Persian Gulf waters. The United States and Iran broke diplomatic relations in April 1980, after Iranian students seized the United States' espionage center at its embassy in Tehran. The two countries have had tense relations ever since, but have shown willingness to attend talks to help resolve regional issues, including security in Iraq. Yet, the two countries have avoided talks on bilateral issues for over thirty years. Washington and its Western allies accuse Iran of trying to develop nuclear weapons under the cover of a civilian nuclear program, while they have never presented any corroborative evidence to substantiate their allegations. Iran denies the charges and insists that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes only.