“Military power does not form the main basis of a state’s power. The power of their words can be very effective. There was a factor that played a role during the [nuclear] negotiations that was called ‘lack of prestige cost,’ something that Trump is suffering from. This Trump’s lack of prestige will benefit us in the end,” Said the Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a meeting with representatives of Iran’s Chamber of Commerce, Industries, Mines and Agriculture this morning
Zarif blasted all those who have criticized the nuclear deal also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) for being flawed, saying that the JCPOA was not the only international agreement that the US president pulled the US out of it.
He noted that Trump, in addition to the JCPOA, has so far left the Paris climate change agreement, Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) as well as NAFTA and some other international pacts, asking “were those agreements flawed too?”
The Iranian foreign minister said that he was sure the Americans would have tougher a time as a result of Trump’s policies. saying “in the past, the Americans used to sit in the White House and would do nothing and the Europeans as their pawns would do everything for them. But nowadays, we can see that the Europeans, contrary to the past, are not only not with the Americans but also they are opposed to them and do not accompany them.”
Zarif further said “in the past, the Europeans had imposed tougher sanctions than the US on Iran while the case is now different.”
He went on to criticize western media for false reports on Iran’s economy, while saying that the JCPOA had many positive effects on the economy.
The Iranian foreign minister said that the US has been isolated after its unlawful exit from the JCPOA, saying that all the countries that he has recently visited following the US action, such as India, South Africa, Russia, China and European countries had agreed to find a way to preserve the nuclear deal.
He said that the European countries today believe that the US is destroying the international order that they have been building for the past 70 years, adding “you cannot find anyone in the West that agrees on the destruction of the current world order.”
Zarif pointed out that Europe sees strategic interests in preserving the nuclear deal and is trying to find ways to keep the deal alive.
The Iranian foreign minister further pointed out that leaving the JCPOA is not in Iran’s interest.
He expressed hope that the other side will not make Iran leave the deal.
Elsewhere in his speech, Zarif pointed out that the Foreign Ministry would act in line with the guidelines of the Islamic Republic, saying that keeping unity should be a top priority for all Iranians.
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