FM Zarif:
Zionist Regime Poses ‘Biggest Nuclear Threat’
TEHRAN (Press TV) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif says the occupying regime of Israel poses "the biggest nuclear threat" to the Middle East region and the entire world.
Zarif described the Zionist regime’s policies towards regional nations as vicious, stressing that Israeli authorities seek to conceal truth and advance their aggressive plots through the language of threats.
"We have never expected Israel to adopt a peaceful and non-violent approach. We have got used to Israel’s policies over the past years,” he told Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen news network on Thursday evening.
The top Iranian diplomat also reiterated Tehran’s preparedness to offer support and assistance to bring about national unity among Palestinians, terming the issue as an urgent "priority" for the Islamic Republic.
Zarif then pointed to the resistance against the Israeli regime’s aggressive acts, saying Tel Aviv’s aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon taught the regime that Palestinian and Lebanese nations are not soft targets.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif pointed to joint Saudi and Israeli attempts to pressure Iran, saying Riyadh and Tel Aviv have joined efforts since the beginning of nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to sabotage the negotiations.
"They have explored all available avenues and exerted excessive pressure. We predict that they are still pushing ahead with such efforts,” he said.
"I advise Saudi Arabia to cooperate with us instead of collaborating with others in a bid to harm Iran. Countries that commit erroneous acts must offer apologies to Iran. This is not our mistake that some countries have decided to invade Yemen for no clear reason, and support Daesh and Nusra Front militant groups in Syria and Iraq,” Zarif stated.
He said Tehran and Riyadh could have good relations.
"Iran is prepared to cooperate with all Muslim states within the framework of non-inference in the domestic affairs of each other. Cooperation with neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, must be aimed at the establishment of peace in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria," the Iranian foreign minister stated.
Zarif also dismissed U.S. authorities’ hostile rhetoric against Iran as "ineffective,” saying former U.S. administrations imposed numerous economic sanctions against Iran, which produced adverse political outcomes and left them with no option but to negotiate with the Islamic Republic.
Iran, he said, has devised a vast array of scenarios concerning its nuclear agreement with the world’s major powers, but the best option is that Americans stand committed to the accord.
"The U.S. administration knows that sanctions against Iran are not helpful, and implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the best possible option,” Zarif pointed out.
He also denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's new travel ban on citizens of the six Muslim-majority countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, saying the restriction is a "gift" to extremists.
Zarif described the Zionist regime’s policies towards regional nations as vicious, stressing that Israeli authorities seek to conceal truth and advance their aggressive plots through the language of threats.
"We have never expected Israel to adopt a peaceful and non-violent approach. We have got used to Israel’s policies over the past years,” he told Lebanon-based Al-Mayadeen news network on Thursday evening.
The top Iranian diplomat also reiterated Tehran’s preparedness to offer support and assistance to bring about national unity among Palestinians, terming the issue as an urgent "priority" for the Islamic Republic.
Zarif then pointed to the resistance against the Israeli regime’s aggressive acts, saying Tel Aviv’s aggression against the besieged Gaza Strip and Lebanon taught the regime that Palestinian and Lebanese nations are not soft targets.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif pointed to joint Saudi and Israeli attempts to pressure Iran, saying Riyadh and Tel Aviv have joined efforts since the beginning of nuclear talks between Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council to sabotage the negotiations.
"They have explored all available avenues and exerted excessive pressure. We predict that they are still pushing ahead with such efforts,” he said.
"I advise Saudi Arabia to cooperate with us instead of collaborating with others in a bid to harm Iran. Countries that commit erroneous acts must offer apologies to Iran. This is not our mistake that some countries have decided to invade Yemen for no clear reason, and support Daesh and Nusra Front militant groups in Syria and Iraq,” Zarif stated.
He said Tehran and Riyadh could have good relations.
"Iran is prepared to cooperate with all Muslim states within the framework of non-inference in the domestic affairs of each other. Cooperation with neighboring countries, including Saudi Arabia, must be aimed at the establishment of peace in Bahrain, Yemen and Syria," the Iranian foreign minister stated.
Zarif also dismissed U.S. authorities’ hostile rhetoric against Iran as "ineffective,” saying former U.S. administrations imposed numerous economic sanctions against Iran, which produced adverse political outcomes and left them with no option but to negotiate with the Islamic Republic.
Iran, he said, has devised a vast array of scenarios concerning its nuclear agreement with the world’s major powers, but the best option is that Americans stand committed to the accord.
"The U.S. administration knows that sanctions against Iran are not helpful, and implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) is the best possible option,” Zarif pointed out.
He also denounced U.S. President Donald Trump's new travel ban on citizens of the six Muslim-majority countries of Iran, Libya, Somalia, Sudan, Syria and Yemen, saying the restriction is a "gift" to extremists.