In a letter to heads of international bodies missions based in Vienna, warned that US measure in sanctioning Zarif is a clear threat to diplomacy and multilateralism.
The letter notes that sanctioning FM Zarif is just another vivid instance of the numerous unlawful actions taken by the US in line with the so-called ‘maximum pressure’ policy against Iran, including through instigating economic terrorism against the Iranian nation which has been exacerbated in past 15 months after the US’s unlawful unilateral withdrawal from JCPOA, in bold insolence of the unanimously adopted UNSC resolution 2231 endorsing the agreement.
“The underlying repercussions of sanctioning a foreign minister of a sovereign UN member State is a flagrant violation of fundamental norms and principles of international law including the purposes and principles of the UN Charter,” Gharibabadi highlights, adding, “It also contradicts the established principles and rules of diplomatic law and inter-State relations.”
On July 31, the US Treasury Department said that it was imposing sanctions on Zarif — whom it described as Iran’s “primary spokesperson around the world” — for acting on behalf of Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
The bans drew condemnations from Iranian statesmen and military officials. The European Union — which has been cooperating with Zarif in a successful diplomatic process on Iran’s nuclear program — also expressed regret over Washington’s bans.
Zarif, himself, mocked the bans and said the US’s “reason for designating me is that I am Iran’s ‘primary spokesperson around the world’. Is the truth really that painful?”
He reiterated that the sanctions “have no effect” on him or his family, as they “have no property or interests outside of Iran.”
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