Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks in a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Tuesday in Tehran.
Zarif said that he had serious and friendly talks with Lavrov on the JCPOA to further cooperate in lifting sanctions.
Appreciating the strong position of the Russian Federation against the sabotage in Natanz, he stressed the need for continued cooperation between the two countries.
"It is also necessary for the United States to return to its commitments without any delay and to lift all sanctions, and Iran will take action after the verification as well," he added.
"We have no problem returning to JCPOA commitments, as the Leader said, but the Americans should know that neither sanctions nor sabotage will give them the means to negotiate. These measures will only make the situation more difficult for them," the Iranian foreign minister stressed.
Referring to the cooperation between the two countries in the field of countering coronavirus, Zarif said, "We hope that with the agreement reached between the two countries, the production of Sputnik vaccine will start in Iran and it will be possible to buy more of this vaccine from Russia to meet our needs. This is a good ground for wider cooperation between Iran and Russia."
In response to a question about the recent approach and actions of the Europeans, he noted, "In recent years, the European Union has shown that it is gradually losing its relevance in international relations by failing to meet its obligations and succumbing to US pressure. Instead of condemning the US move to pose a terrorist threat to the food and medicine security of 82 million Iranians and to take serious action against the enrichment site incident, they simply ignored it and at the same time imposed sanctions on Iranian military officials. These only make the European Union prove to the world that it has no place in the world."
"The European Union is, in fact, following not only American policies, but also the most extremist groups within the United States and the Zionist regime, and this is a great shame for Europe," Zarif highlighted.
The Foreign Minister described the EU action in imposing sanctions on a number of Iranian officials as destructive, saying, "We will deal with this action. Yesterday, we announced some of the decisions of the Islamic Republic regarding this action, and we are considering sanctions against Europeans who were involved in this illegal action, and we will continue this process."
"Europe must know that it is not in a morally superior position and cannot preach to the world," Zarif noted, adding, "A Europe in which xenophobia and anti-Islamism have created terrible conditions for Muslims has neither a reputation nor a place to sanction Iranian officials."
Referring to the claim of the dissident media that the activities of the Natanz site would be delayed for 9 months, the Iranian foreign minister said, "What happened in Nazanz makes it possible for Iran to legally do anything to advance nuclear progress to compensate for this terrorist stupidity. In the near future, Nazanz will move forward with more advanced centrifuges."
Noting that investigations are underway about the perpetrators of the Natanz incident, he stressed, "If the Israeli regime is responsible, it will be responded."
Zarif went on to stress, "If the Zionists think they can prevent the lifting of sanctions against the Iranian people, they are wrong. Iran will be stronger both in terms of negotiations and nuclear issues after this incident."
Heading a high-ranking delegation, Lavrov arrived in Tehran on Monday evening upon the official invitation of Zarif and as part of political consultations between the foreign ministers of Iran.
According to Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh, the new round of talks between the top Iranian and Russian diplomats includes various aspects of bilateral relations, regional issues, especially the latest developments in the Caucasus, Syria, Yemen, and Afghanistan, cooperation between the two countries at regional and international levels, as well as important issues such as JCPOA, countering US unilateral moves and illegal sanctions.
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