Iran’s foreign ministry slammed the US in a series of statements on Monday.
The Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Nasser Kanaani claimed the US is now a party to the war in Gaza because the US has supplied Israel with munitions.
Iran also claims the US is holding the UN Security Council hostage to prevent wider condemnation of Israel’s war against Hamas.
Iran backs Hamas and has had meetings with Hamas leadership since October 7. Iran also backs militias in Iraq and Syria in their attacks on US forces. Iran has backed the Houthis in Yemen to increase attacks on ships. Therefore Iran’s posture condemns the US but also exploits the current conflict in the region to make the conflict escalate beyond Gaza.
Iran thus seeks to benefit from the war while also using the war to try to get Iran more influence in the Middle East by portraying itself as being against Israel and the US. Iran, for instance, has worked closely with Turkey to condemn Israel.
US House looking to block transfer of $6 billion to Iran
Now Iran’s foreign ministry is focused on $6 billion in frozen funds that it is trying to get released from Qatar. This was part of a deal that took place months ago in August. However, back in October the US and Qatar agreed to block Iran from accessing the funds.
Now, the US House of Representatives has sought to block the transfer as well. Iran has said the US cannot “renege” on this deal. Iran is closely following this measure in the US Congress.
The Iranian foreign ministry has said the US is obligated to make sure Tehran can get its money, even as Iran spreads chaos and war all over the region.
“We took the necessary guarantees and we do not act based on trust with America, which has shown that it is not reliable. The American government must fulfill its obligations and these resources are available to Iran,” the Iranian foreign ministry said on Monday.