Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said no foreign state can impose conditions on an "independent" country like Iran.
"No one can set conditions for Iran and Iran is an independent country," Zarif told reporters on Saturday, Press TV reported.
He made the statements in response to an earlier demand by German Economy Minister and Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel who told the online weekly magazine Der Spiegel on Friday that Iran could have normal and friendly relations with Germany "only when it accepted Israel's right to exist."
Gabriel is to visit Iran this week at the head of a large delegation of business executives to discuss possible business deals after last year's historic nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, between Tehran and major powers. As part of the deal, Iran has agreed to limit certain aspects of its nuclear program in exchange for the removal of all nuclear-related sanctions against the Islamic Republic.
Clear Policies
Zarif dismissed the German official's call and said, "Our policies are clear and [officials of] different countries travel to Iran in the knowledge that the country's policies are constructive. Our country is the main country fighting terrorism in the region."
The top diplomat added that Iran has been resisting foreign bullying over the past 37 years since the 1979 Islamic Revolution "while it is a peace-seeking country."
"Iran is a country that has stood up to Daesh [an Arabic acronym for the self-styled Islamic State terrorist group] and terrorism. Therefore, having relations with Iran should be an honor for all."
Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Qasemi also on Saturday rejected Germany's demand and emphasized that Tehran would never drop support for the Palestinians. "Ties between the Islamic Republic of Iran and Germany are based on mutual respect and interests, and no precondition would be acceptable in this regard," he said.
Qasemi added that the Islamic Republic considers defending the rights of the people of Palestine to be a fixed plank of its foreign policy and will never and under no circumstances forsake the Palestinian cause.
Germany had been Iran's biggest European trading partner for decades before a series of sanctions were tightened against the Islamic Republic under the pretext of its nuclear program.
