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Lawmakers Censure Ahmadinejad’s Trump Letter

Lawmakers Censure Ahmadinejad’s Trump Letter
Lawmakers Censure Ahmadinejad’s Trump Letter

Lawmakers took a swipe at former Iranian president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, for defying customary diplomatic norms in sending a letter to US President Donald Trump last month, which media say has not been delivered.

The letter was handed to the Swiss Embassy in Tehran, which handles the US consular affairs in Iran since the two severed diplomatic ties following the storming of the US Embassy by Iranian students months after the 1979 Islamic Revolution overthrew the US-backed shah.

Reports have been circulating on social media recently that the Swiss Embassy has returned the letter for "failure to observe norms and formalities of diplomatic correspondence."

Two members of parliament, in recent interviews with ICANA, denounced Ahmadinejad's move for undermining Iran's global stature.

"It is absolutely unacceptable that former statesmen harm the country's status in the international arena by such unusual and unreasonable acts," Ardeshir Nourian said.

Highlighting the norms governing correspondence among countries, Nourian stressed, "There is an established procedure for anyone who wishes to comment on international issues. Officials should avoid inappropriate moves that create trouble for the country."

Lawmaker Alireza Rahimi criticized Ahmadinejad's move as "irresponsible" and a blow to both "the national interests and the credibility of the letter writer".

The letter struck a somewhat conciliatory tone while applauding immigration to America and saying it shows "the contemporary US belongs to all nations", AP reported. It is not the first dispatch sent by Ahmadinejad, as he sent letters to US presidents George W. Bush and Barack Obama in the past.

But this 3,500-word letter came, as criticism of Trump over his travel ban affecting several Muslim-majority countries, including Iran, mounted in Tehran. In the letter, published by Iranian media outlets, Ahmadinejad noted that Trump won the election while he "truthfully described the US political system and electoral structure as corrupt."

Ahmadinejad decried US "dominance" over the United Nations, as well as American meddling in the world for bringing "insecurity, war, division, killing and displacement of nations."

He also acknowledged that some one million people of Iranian descent live in America, saying that US policies should "respect the diversity of nations and races."

"In other words, the contemporary US belongs to all nations, including the natives of the land," he wrote. "No one may consider themselves the owner and view others as guests or immigrants."

A judge later blocked Trump's travel ban and an appeals court refused to reinstate it. Trump issued a revised order last week, which is to come into force in the coming days.

 

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