During the interview on Tuesday February 20, 2018, Mohammad Javad Zarif said that the Islamic Revolution “was a demand for dignity on the part of the Iranian people. They wanted recognition for who they were, for their history, for their identity.”
In response to the question 'do you think Americans generally understand the Iranian experience prior to the revolution?', Zarif said "I guess not. I believe the American people have not been subjected to the type of indignation and lack of respect that the people of Iran were subjected to, although they were a close ally of the United States. But you could feel that Iran was not receiving the respect that it deserved."
Iran’s foreign minister said that Iranian revolution was not a Shia revolution, asking “are Palestinians Shiites? We have paid the heaviest price for our support for the Palestinian people. I don’t believe even a minute percentage of the Palestinian people are Shiites, so I think they need to think twice before they make such ridiculous statements.”
Referring to the adventurous foreign policy of Saudi Arabia and its support for terrorist groups, Zarif said “of course Saudi Arabia wants Daesh to win. Unfortunately, the king of Saudi Arabia is on the record telling another king that we prefer Daesh over Assad, and then we will deal with Daesh. That’s wishful thinking. That’s the same mistake they made with Saddam Hussein. They’re so shortsighted, unfortunately, that they do not see two steps ahead of them. They do not understand that if Daesh took Damascus, it would claim to the caliphate that would attract a lot of people, and that would be disaster for them.”
With regard to the impacts that the western sanctions have had on Iran’s power, Zarif said “despite the fact that the United States and almost every other powerful nation supports Saudi Arabia actively and tries to undermine us actively, we are still the most influential power in the Middle East. That should tell you something. That should tell you that we have made the right choices, and they’ve made the wrong choices.”
KI