Criticizing the US for sending the USS Abraham Lincoln carrier strike group and a bomber task force to the Persian Gulf, he said, “Having all these military assets in a small area is in of itself prone to accidents”.

“Extreme prudence is required and the United States is playing a very, very dangerous game.”

Elsewhere in the interview, the top diplomat referred to Washington’s pullout from the JCPOA, and said, “We acted in good faith. We are not willing to talk to people who have broken their promises.”

Zarif noted that the Trump administration had also walked away from the Paris climate accords, the North America Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), and United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO).

“Iran never negotiates with coercion. You cannot threaten any Iranian and expect them to engage. The way to do it is through respect, not through threats.”

“All we want to do is sell our oil,” Zarif said, adding that the US was “just a bully preventing people from buying our oil.”

He said US sanctions, which have hit the Iranian economy hard, “amount to terrorism” on the country’s citizens.

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