TEHRAN
Spokesperson for the Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi denied on Tuesday the claims that Iran invited the United States to the oath-taking ceremony of the incoming Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, winning the June presidential elections.
Speaking at the weekly press briefing, Araghchi noted that all world countries excluding the US and Israel, "the Zionist regime" as he called, were invited to the swearing-in ceremony of the President-elect Rouhani to be held on August 4 in the Iranian Parliament, Majlis.
Araghchi said Israel was not invited to the ceremony as Tehran does not recognize "the usurper entity".
"Since the victory of the Islamic Revolution in 1979, it is the first time that Iran has decided to invite representatives of foreign countries to attend the oath-taking ceremony of an Iranian president," he told the press.
Araghchi stressed that the present reports published by some media about the participating countries were just speculation, detailing that final list of the foreign guests would be announced later.
Using the headline "First invitation from Iran to US," the news in the world press claimed that Iran invited the US and representatives of the European Union to the oath-taking ceremony on August 4.
englishnews@aa.com.tr
