Iran’s foreign minister has said those who want to engage in a war with the country “will find out that it is suicidal”.
Mohammad Javad Zarif made the comments in an exclusive interview with NBC News’ Richard Engel at the 2019 Munich Security Conference.
When asked if there would be a military clash between Iran and the United States or Israel, given the rhetoric between the countries, the politician replied: “Well, certainly some people who were successful in creating a war last time are hard at it again.”
But, he added, he thinks “some sense will prevail”.
On the subject of economic sanctions imposed on Iran by the US and nations like Saudi Arabia, Zarif said he did not think it was a “sustainable situation”.
He said an EU-Iran trade mechanism to circumvent the sanctions was “not the best” instrument, but served as “an indication for the United States that its policy of coercion will not last”.
US Vice President Mike Pence decried European nations the UK, France and Germany at a Warsaw conference this week over their refusal to join America in withdrawing from the 2015 nuclear deal — a move that Zarif said meant the countries were “not violating international law”.
Despite saying Iran wanted to have good relations with Europan Union nations, the Iranian minister stressed that the Iranian economy “doesn’t depend on Europe”.
Zarif said Iran had investigated allegations, made by European officials, that Iran planned a series of terrorist attacks going back to 2015.
“If you look at those allegations, you see false flag operations everywhere,” he added.
The politician agreed that a third party was trying to pin the allegations on Iran, but did not confirm who, saying authorities were investigating the matter.
He singled out Netanyahu as one player who has tried to undermine the nation’s relations with European countries.
Referencing recent New York Times reports that the Trump administration sabotaged the Iranian missile programmes, Zarif said this would not surprise him.
“The United States has committed all sorts of illegality in the past,” he said
“They’re known to have killed, with Israel, Iranian nuclear scientists. They’re known to have carried out terrorist operations in Iran.”
He added that Iran had already been efficient in preventing US sabotage and “will be more vigilant”.
Euronews
