Tehran criticised on 3 December comments made by US deputy secretary of state John Bolton the previous day, in which he condemned Iran's 'illegitimate' nuclear weapons programme and criticised the government's 'economic incentives and aggressive propaganda'. 'Such comments provide sufficient proof that the US authorities still believe that they can achieve their objectives through arrogant bullying,' said the spokesman for the Foreign Affairs Ministry, Hamid Reza Asefi. 'Such an attitude by US statesmen is the biggest threat against global peace and security.' (MEED 14:11:03)