Iran’s Power, Influence at Its Peak: FM Zarif

Date: 01 July 2019 - 21:50

News ID: ۶۷۶۱۶

TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Iran said on Monday a special payment mechanism introduced by Europe to bypass the U.S. sanctions on Iran, known as Instex, shows even Washington’s closest allies are distancing themselves from the U.S.
"Despite the fact that the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (Instex) is not sufficient for Europe to meet its commitments towards Iran, but it means the closest allies of the U.S. are moving away from the country,” Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said here.
"The Americans have reached the conclusion that the JCPOA set Iran free from the chains on its hands, and caused its regional power and influence to grow,” he told a ceremony to mark the National Day of Industry and Mine.
The Iranian foreign minister went on to say that the U.S. has been isolated in the international arena today, and is resorting to any means in order to whip up support.
"Iran’s international power and influence is at its peak, and that has forced the Americans to use the last resort left for them, namely the economic weapon.”
Zarif said the Americans tried to use the dollar’s domination in international trade to pressure Iran, but in fact they created problems for themselves in the long run.
He cited China and Russia which have decided to stop using the U.S. dollar in their transactions, adding Iran and Turkey also used their national currencies in 35 percent of their transactions last year.
"Even the UAE and India which are the friends of the United States decided to limit their use of the dollar,” Zarif said.
"This means the strategic use of the power of the dollar will decrease in the long term,” he added.
Last week, senior authorities from Russia and China signed an agreement to ditch the U.S. dollar and other major international currencies in mutual trade and instead use their national currencies.
Countries like Iran and Venezuela, which have suffered under the U.S. sanctions, have also called for the use of national currencies in global trade.
Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that there is a need for the international community to "confront this wrongful habit of the U.S. to use the power of the dollar as a weapon against independent countries”.
Zarif said last month that America’s hegemony would collapse if countries around the world were to ditch the U.S. dollar as the basis for their international trade.
"America’s power rests on the dollar; a great part of America’s economic power will go away if countries eliminate the dollar from their economic systems,” said Zarif.