TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif on Friday compared U.S. National Security Adviser John Bolton’s warmongering remarks 10 years ago with those of today, calling him the "same bully”.
"Same bull. Same bully. Same delusion,” Zarif said on his Twitter account.
The tweet came after recent reports that Bolton had asked the Pentagon to prepare plans for a U.S. military strike against Iran in September.
Bolton made the request after a mortar attack at Baghdad’s diplomatic quarter, which houses the U.S. embassy, according to a report by the Wall Street Journal.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated since U.S. President Donald Trump walked away from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers in May and reimposed sanctions on the Islamic Republic.
Zarif, who paid an extended tour of Iraq this week, responded to his American counterpart on Thursday, saying the United States has no right to interfere in bilateral relations between Tehran and Baghdad.
U.S. Secretary of State visited Iraq on January 9, telling Iraqi leaders that Iran’s influence must be reduced in the country.
Zarif told reporters in Najaf that Iran’s relations with Iraq are much older than the United States, according to IRNA.
Iran’s foreign minister also expressed optimism about the future of political and economic relations with Iraq, saying relations will be "brilliant”.
Iraq purchases a large quantity of Iranian fuel to generate electricity and the U.S. has extended a waiver from sanctions allowing Baghdad to continue imports from Iran.
It is a delicate balancing act for Washington to maintain good relations with Iraq but gradually put pressure on Baghdad for reduction of relations with Iran.
Zarif arrived in Iraq on Sunday for talks with senior officials in Baghdad and the country's semi-autonomous Kurdistan region on ways to enhance cooperation in different areas, over a year after Iraq managed to clear its entire soil of Daesh terrorists with Iran’s assistance.
"Honored to be in Najaf and Karbala: home of the Sacred Shrines. Moved by people's sentiments. As brave Iranian youth stood with Iraqi brothers in fight against extremist terror, our private sectors will stand together in mutually beneficial endeavors to improve the lives of all,” he tweeted.
He described his trip to Iraq as his "lengthiest ever" to a foreign country, hailing it as a sign of "special relations" between the two nations. "I can confidently say that Iran-Iraq relations have a bright future," the minister said.
"The affinities between the Iranian and Iraqi nations are cultural and historical. The blood of their youths has mingled amid their fight against terrorism; therefore, no power can divide them," he added.
Zarif said, "Outsiders forced their way into this region one day, but they will eventually leave. It is the regional nations that will remain," said Zarif. "We must not allow the parties that do not favor better conditions for us to hinder Iran-Iraq relations."
Prior to Pompeo, U.S. President Donald Trump had paid a controversial secret visit to American troops in Iraq, which triggered a wave of condemnation from the Arab country’s political and military leaders.
Commenting on Zarif's remarks, spokesman of Iraq's Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba Hashim al-Mousawi, described Iran-Iraq ties as not only political but also "intellectual, religious, spiritual and friendly."
"There are continuous coordination and cooperation between the two sides whether politically, militarily or economically," he told Press TV.
He further pointed to Washington's attempt to "provoke" the Arab world against Iran, stressing that "Iraq will not let go of its alliance with Iran, because Iran has stood with the people of Iraq" during difficult times.