In response to Mike Pompeo’s 12 conditions for negotiation with Iran, Ali Shamkhani, the chairman of Iran’s supreme national security council said that the United States is after reducing Iran’s role in the middle east.

In his interview, Shamkhani says: “out of the 12 conditions, seven of them are related to regional issues and presence of Iran in Iraq, which goes to show that the United States’ problem with Iran is not the nuclear program. They are trying to remove Iran’s role in fighting terrorism and fundamentalism.”

The U.S Secretary of State offered these conditions in April, a few days after president Trump officially left the JCPOA.

The weaponizing aspects of Iran’s nuclear program, complete shut down of uranium enrichment, complete halt on the development of ballistic missiles, release of all dual citizens, ending Islamic Republic’s support of Hamas, Hezbollah, and Islamic Jihad, no more intervention in Iraq, Yemen, and Syria, and no more support of Taliban are among the conditions for negotiations.

Shamkhani emphasized that Iran is determined to “achieve a higher status in the region”. He claimed that all the views on Iran are biased in favor of Israel.