Reacting to remarks by a US official announcing the restrictions, Esmaeil Baqaei said Washington appears to believe that nations lack the memory and critical thinking needed to see through its narratives.
“Washington still seems to assume that nations have neither memory nor the capacity for critical thought. It treats the world as if it were *Pluribus*: a hive in which minds are expected to switch off, eyes lock onto Washington’s lips, and its narrative is swallowed whole,” the Iranian spokesman wrote in a post on his X account on Friday.
“On one side stands a brutal economic war, deliberately designed to inflict maximum pain and suffering on every Iranian citizen. On the other stands the theatrical announcement of measures to stop Iranian officials from supposedly shopping at an American wholesale club,” he added.
“They look past the sanctioning of an entire nation’s livelihood, then issue solemn statements about the sanctioning of a store membership card,” Baqaei stated.
“The propaganda is so crude and threadbare that it exposes the naivety of the mindset that launched an unlawful war of choice against the Nation of Iran, and helped deliver the United States to the embarrassing position it occupies today,” he added.
His post came after the US State Department said an Iranian delegation will be permitted to attend the UN General Assembly’s High-Level Week in New York next week, while noting that the delegation will be smaller than last year.
At the same time, Washington has announced additional restrictions on Iranian delegates, including limits on their movement and a ban on purchasing luxury goods and wholesale club memberships in the United States. The State Department said similar restrictions have existed for years and have also applied to diplomats from countries including Russia.