Iran urges U.S. to "change behavior" in action: spokesman

The U.S. President Donald Trump should change its behavior towards Iran in action, Iranian Foreign Ministry Spokesman Abbas Mousavi said on Tuesday.

Abbas Mousavi, spokesman for Iran's Foreign Ministry, gives a press conference in the capital Tehran on May 28, 2019. [Photo: AFP]

"Iran pays more attention to action and behavior than the words in the U.S. policy," Mousavi said in a reaction to Trump's recent remarks in Japan that U.S. wants negotiations as it does not seek regime change in Tehran.

"We will base our decisions on our own observations and the impacts of U.S. moves on our country and the region," Mousavi said in his weekly press conference.

He criticized Trump for withdrawing from the Iranian nuclear deal last year, and said that Iran would likely decide on negotiations with the United States if the latter re-endorses the pact.

Washington seeks to seal a new nuclear deal with Iran, to further curb Iran's nuclear program, stop Iran ballistic missile development and halt Iran's push for influence in the region.

To push its agenda forward, the U.S. administration has returned financial and economic sanctions against Tehran which had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear accord.