'Delusional': Iran Slams Obama's Claim Sanctions Brought Diplomacy

Foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham says president's charge was 'based on a false narration of history'

Iran's foreign ministry spokeswoman Marzieh Afkham dismissed as "a totally wrong interpretation" President Obama's claim in his State of the Union address that U.S. sanctions on Iran created the conditions for ongoing nuclear talks in Geneva.

"The delusion of sanctions having an effect on Iran's motivation for nuclear negotiations is based on a false narration of history," Afkham told Iranian state media outlet IRIB, which published her comments Thursday. "America considers preventing Iran from obtaining a nuclear weapon to be its biggest achievement, but it is wrong since Iran has never sought to obtain a nuclear weapon and will never do so in future."

Her comments came in response to Obama's claim on Tuesday that "American diplomacy, backed by pressure, has halted the progress of Iran's nuclear program and rolled parts of that program back. The sanctions that we put in place helped make this opportunity possible."

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