Kharrazi strongly criticized Seoul’s approach regarding US sanctions against Tehran and noted that 7 billion dollars of Iranian financial resources have been taken hostage by Korean banks, adding that Iran is not even able to use the resources to buy medicine.

He went on to say that sanctions have made Iran self-sufficient in many fields including the production of household appliances and Korean companies have missed good opportunities in Iran.

According to Kharrazi, the seizure of the tanker is not a political issue and is solely a technical and legal matter and the case has been handed to the judiciary for further investigation.

Heading a high-ranking delegation, the South Korean diplomat arrived in Tehran on Sunday.

The diplomat will reportedly join a working delegation that arrived in Tehran earlier on Thursday to negotiate with the Iranian authorities for the release of the Korean sailors and the detained ship, Yonhap news agency reported.

However, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatbizadeh said on Thursday that the South Korean delegation’s Thursday visit to Tehran was aimed at negotiating Iran’s frozen financial resources.

Around 3 trillion won ($2.7 billion) deposited by the Seoul branch of Iran’s Bank Mellat has been held by the Bank of Korea, while about $7 billion worth of Iranian oil money was frozen by the Industrial Bank of Korea and Woori Bank, according to Yonhap News Agency.

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Gibraltar’s government announced this week it was releasing the supertanker despite pressure from the US for the vessel’s continued detainment. The supertanker, laden with 2.1 million barrels of oil, was illegally detained by British Marines off the coasts of Gibraltar on 4 July. Iran had condemned UK’s measure as ‘piracy’.

Kharrazi, in his remarks, noted that “we can only confront enemies’ bullying behavior through our resistance.”

He went on to say that Iran will continue its resistance approach as far as the country’s problems are solved.

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“We expect friendly countries to be more active in purchasing Iran’s oil,” Jahangiri said.

He added that Iran is ready to export gas to China through Pakistan.

“Iran has the biggest gas reserves in the world and we are ready to export gas through Pakistan,” Jahangiri stated.

The United States has introduced a total ban on Iran’s oil export.

“The United States assumed that it can cut Iran’s oil sale to zero to ruin our economy. However, fortunately, one year has passed since the United States imposed oil sanctions and Iran’s economic state is stable,” Jahangiri stated.

‘Reducing nuclear commitments intended to save JCPOA’

Elsewhere, he said that Iran is reducing its commitments under the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, in an effort to save the multilateral agreement.

Iran has repeatedly said if the Europeans respect their commitment to the JCPOA, it will reverse its decision in reducing commitments.

“Other sides should be committed as Iran has been committed to the JCPOA. Iran will return to the situation before reducing its nuclear commitments as soon as other sides fulfil their commitments,” the vice president insisted.

‘Supporting multilateralism, countering U.S. hegemony’

The vice president also said Iran’s foreign policy is based on supporting multilateralism and countering the U.S. hegemony.

Jahangiri also said that an Iranian economic delegation comprising from the central bank and economy ministry will travel to China in future days to iron out a plan for a financial mechanism between the countries to facilitate trade ties. The vice president expressed hope that the talks on devising the mechanism would be “constructive”.

For his part, Song said that Beijing is determined to keep friendly ties with Iran.

China has always attached great importance to ties with Iran, Song remarked.

He also condemned the U.S. unilateralism, saying, “China’s determination to have relations with the Islamic Republic of Iran and implement agreements between the two countries will not change. The two countries can provide each other with experiences in countering the U.S. pressure.”

The communist party official urged all sides to implement their obligations under the deal.

“Beijing calls on all sides of the JCPOA to settle differences through negotiation and political strategies, and believes that if all sides remain committed to the JCPOA we will be able to stand against the U.S. unilateralism,” he noted.

——– Kharrazi: Europeans should stand against U.S. humiliation

After a meeting with Song on Sunday, Kamal Kharrazi, chairman of Iran’s Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, told reporters that the Europeans should stand against the United States which is humiliating them.

The JCPOA is a test for the Europeans to show if they can stand against the U.S. pressure.

Mohsen Rezaee, secretary of the Expediency Council, also met separately with Song on Sunday.

On May 8, exactly one year after the U.S. withdrew from the multi-nation nuclear agreement and reimposed sanctions on Iran, Tehran announced a partial withdrawal from some aspects of the pact, saying that the country would no longer adhere to some of the limits on its nuclear activities. It also threatened to step up uranium enrichment if an agreement is not made within 60 days to protect it from the sanctions’ effects.

In follow-up to that deadline, on July 7 Iran announced that it has started enriching uranium to a higher purity than the 3.67% as the Europeans missed the 60-day deadline to devise a concrete mechanism to protect the country from the U.S. sanctions.

INSTEX – the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges – is a European special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between Europe and Iran.

The European Union announced on June 28 that INSTEX has gone into effect.

Tehran says the mechanism is far short of Iran’s expectation. Iran insists the mechanism should include Iran’s oil purchases.

Majid Takht Ravanchi, Iran’s permanent representative to the United Nations, has likened INSTEX to a “beautiful car without gasoline”.

“The current situation of INSTEX does not suffice. This mechanism without money is like a beautiful car without gasoline,” he told reporters on June 29.

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Kharazzi, who has previously served as Iran’s foreign minister, referred to the Leader of the Islamic Republic Ayatollah Khamenei’s insistence on expanding bilateral relations with China as well as the joint strategic statement by the two countries’ presidents, saying that “both Iran and China are opposed to US’s unilateralism and hegemony.”

He described Iran and China’s economies as complementary to each other, while also stressing the need for developing security cooperation between the two sides.

The former top Iranian diplomat referred to shooting downing a US drone and seizure of a UK oil tanker in the Persian Gulf recently by Iran, saying that the two incidents must have proven that Iran does not compromise on its national interests and security.

Song Tao, for his part, expressed his country’s appreciation to Iran for its support during trade war with the US, adding that the two countries have many potentials to develop bilateral relations.

The Chinese official added that China’s political will to develop relations with Tehran and to implement the JCPOA is unchangeable.

He further held the US responsible for the failure of Iran nuclear deal implementation.

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“We hope that the English would free the Iranian oil tanker and that legal proceedings in Iran would lead to the release of the English tanker,” he added.

He went on to say that during the past 250 years, Iran has never attacked any country but, as proved, it is serious in defending its territorial integrity.

Upon the request of Iran’s Ports and Maritime Organization, IRGC seized British-flagged Stena Impero on Friday in the Strait of Hormuz since the vessel had switched off its transponder and moving in the wrong direction, increasing the risk of collision with other ships.

The Sunday Telegraph reported that Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt would announce some diplomatic and economic measures on Monday in response to the detention of the Stena Impero.

“Unlike the piracy in the Strait of Gibraltar, our action in the Persian Gulf is to uphold international maritime rules,” Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif tweeted on Saturday.

British Royal Marines in Gibraltar stormed the Iran-operated 300,000-tonne Grace 1 and detained it on July 4, accusing it of carrying oil to Syria in possible violation of the European Union’s sanctions on the Arab country. Iran condemned the move as “piracy” and summoned Britain’s ambassador in protest over it, highlighting that neither the tanker was headed to Syria, nor Iran is a member an EU member and subject to any European oil embargo.

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Iran has threatened if a decision is not made by that date it will take the next steps.

“Three European signatories to the JCPOA [the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action] have not taken serious actions. So, Iran will stop implementing some of its obligations based on the text of the JCPOA,” he told reporters after a meeting with British Minister of State for the Middle East Andrew Murrison.

Kharrazi said that the Europeans should dedicate more resources to INTEX and facilitate Iran-Europe interaction.

“We should see if Europe just gives promises or takes practical actions in the remaining time,” said Kharrazi who served as Iran’s foreign minister from 1997 to 2005 under the Khatami administration.

He said that Europeans have not much time to change the current atmosphere.

He noted that the Europeans should maintain their independence despite the U.S. pressure.

He said that Britain has expressed support for keeping the JCPOA, but these are “repeated words”.

On January 31, France, Germany and Britain, the three European parties to the JCPOA, announced the creation of INSTEX, a special purpose vehicle aimed at facilitating legitimate trade between European economic operators and Iran.

On March 20, Iran’s central bank governor Abdolnaser Hemmati announced that a mechanism similar to INSTEX has been registered in Iran, officially called the Special Trade and Finance Institute (STFI).

During a joint press conference with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in Tehran on June 10, German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas said, “We make efforts to make it possible to have economic cooperation with Iran. A financial mechanism called INSTEX has been devised in this respect.”

Maas said that the UK, France and Germany support the JCPOA. However, he said, “The position of our three European countries is that we support the JCPOA and we want to continue our commitments but we cannot expect miracles.”

In line with Tehran’s decision to scale back its commitments under the nuclear deal in protest to reimposition of sanctions, the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran (AEOI) announced on June 17 that Iran’s stockpile of enriched uranium will exceed 300 kilograms by June 27.

After June 27, Kamalvandi said, Iran will speed up its uranium enrichment activities beyond 3.67 percent if the other sides don’t take a practical step.

“After surpassing 300 kilogram, we will increase the speed of producing enriched uranium above 3.67 percent,” Kamalvandi stated.

Iran has insisted it will reverse its decision if it is shielded from sanctions.

‘Britain should avoid hasty conclusions’

Kharrazi also said that during the meeting with Murrison he protested about accusations British Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt leveled against Iran over attacks on two oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.

“Such hasty conclusions and remarks will not help reduce tension and expand relations. If the British government seeks to reduce tension, it should avoid such hasty conclusions,” Kharrazi remarked.

On June 13, two commercial oil tankers were hit in the Gulf of Oman, prompting the evacuation and rescue of dozens of crew members.

The United States has blamed Iran for the attacks.

Hunt also issued a statement on June 14 blaming Iran and the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps for the attacks. He claimed no other state or non-state actor could have been responsible. The UK official, however, did not present any evidence for his claim.

On June 15, the Iranian Foreign Ministry summoned British Ambassador Robert Macaire over the accusations.

Assistant Foreign Minister for Europe Mahmoud Barimani conveyed Tehran’s strong protest to the British government’s “unfounded allegations” and “unacceptable” anti-Iran stances.

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On May 8, exactly a year after the US pulled out from the JCPOA, Iran revealed countermeasures to US’ withdrawal, giving the other remaining parties to the JCPOA 60 days to comply with their commitments, particularly those regarding Iran’s economic interests in the banking and energy sectors, before reducing portions of its own commitments to the agreement stage by stage. Iran says its decision to reduce commitments to the JCPOA, given the current status of the deal, is within its rights under the agreement

Kharrazi quoted the British diplomat as having said that INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) will be operationalized ‘soon’ and that UK supports the Iran deal but London has its own set of problems with Washington. “These are repetitive words,” Kharrazi said.

In late January 2018, Europe announced the establishment of a special trade mechanism dubbed as INSTEX (Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges) in a bid to save JCPOA after the withdrawal of the United States. The mechanism, which is yet to prove its effectiveness, is said to initially cover trades of food, medicine and medical devices and to gradually include other areas.

Europeans should provide resources for INSTEX to enable it to trade with Iran, he said, adding, “one should see whether Europe is making empty promises or taking practical steps in the two weeks that remain until the deadline.”

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He added that the people and officials are united in the view that it is essential to stand against the U.S. pressure campaign.

Kamal Kharrazi, chief of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said on May 12 that U.S. President Donald Trump’s act in quitting the landmark 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), “has left no room for trust and negotiation”.

During a meeting with authorities on May 14, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Negotiating is poisonous as long as the U.S. continues with the same course of action; besides, negotiating with the current government of the United States is all the more poisonous.”

Speaking in the same meeting, Rouhani said the Iranians can overcome problems through unity and solidarity.

“We can counter problems through unity, coordination and better management,” he said.

Ebrahim Raeisi, the Judiciary chief, said on May 13 that Iran can achieve victory over the U.S. economic and political pressure through resistance, suggesting that Iran will not surrender or hold negotiation with the Trump administration.

Hossein Sheikholeslam, an expert on international affairs who served as deputy foreign minister and ambassador for years, has said that internal integrity is a deterrent element to counter the U.S. hostile actions.

“Military, economic and cultural power and also internal integrity are deterrent elements against the U.S. hostile actions. Words and logic do not work for the U.S.,” he told ISNA in an interview published on Sunday.

He ruled out negotiations with Washington and noted that the U.S. administration cannot be trusted.

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Therefore, it is necessary to examine the causes of its failure and to work collectively for the formation of a neo-multilateralism approach, head of Iran’s Foreign Policy Strategic Council added.

In an era in which some countries consider violations of international law and withdrawal from international treaties as a means of fulfilling their own objectives and imposing their own interests on others by act of bullying, and even failing to respect the rights of their own allies, not only multilateralism is declining, but also it is on the path of destruction, Kharrazi warned.

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