TEHRAN (Iran News) Iran’s Vice-President for Strategic Affairs Mohammad Javad Zarif has dismissed claims that Tehran’s defense policy hinges on the pursuit of nuclear weapons, calling such assumptions a misrepresentation of the country’s strategic goals.

In an article published by Iran Newspaper on Monday, Zarif argued that Iran’s deterrence is rooted in self-reliance, advanced defense capabilities, and historical resistance to external aggression.

“Among some analysts of Iranian politics, a growing narrative claims that Iran, under regional pressures, economic challenges, and domestic unrest, has shifted its policy toward developing nuclear weapons as a last resort for survival or deterrence,” Zarif, a former foreign minister, wrote at the beginning of his article.

He then rejected such narratives as simplistic and influenced by global instability, particularly the erosion of international norms due to Israel’s violations of humanitarian and legal principles.

According to Zarif, while challenges faced by allies like the Lebanese resistance movement Hezbollah may temporarily affect Iran’s sphere of influence, they do not jeopardize the core of the country’s deterrence.

“This paradigm of ‘strategic self-reliance’ has always been recognized as a fundamental pillar of Tehran’s defense policy, ensuring the country’s resilience against external pressures,” he explained.

Addressing claims of Iran seeking nuclear weapons, Zarif further argued that the country’s defense policy remains consistent with its strategic doctrine, which prioritizes sovereignty and regional stability.

He pointed to decades of military innovations as evidence of a long-term vision that safeguards Iran’s security.

Zarif called for a renewed global commitment to accountability and justice, reiterating that claims of Iran’s shift towards nuclear weapons are not a reflection of Tehran’s strategy, but rather a sign of the collapse of the global order.

The Iranian vice president concluded by urging analysts to focus on the Zionist regime’s destabilizing actions, such as its genocidal war on Gaza and assaults on neighboring states, rather than framing Iran as a nuclear threat.

The post Zarif: Iran ‘strategic self-reliance’ does not rest on going nuclear appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The year 1398 fell between March 2019-March 2020, and the year 1399 between March 2020-March 2021.

Hatami said this took place despite all hostilities against Iran.

The former defense chief went on to say that now Iran exports arms to 42 countries, adding Iran’s drones have customers among “other countries”.

Hatami was defense minister during the second term of the Hassan Rouhani presidency.

He went on to say that during four years of his management of the ministry more than 300 products used in ground battles were produced.

Hatami made the remarks at a ceremony welcoming new Defense Minister Mohammadreza Ashtiani.

The former defense minister went on to say that “very good measures” have also been taken in the field of ballistic and cruise missiles.

“Today, we are also in a very good condition in the areas of air and electronic defense and electronic warfare.”

On October 19, 2020, a 13-year-old UN arms embargo on Iran was lifted as part of the 2015 Iran nuclear deal. It happened against vociferous opposition from the Trump administration. Since that date, Iran was legally allowed to export and import arms.

Then Iranian foreign minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hailed October 19 as a “momentous day”.

Iran has been insisting that arms industry is based on defensive needs.

“A momentous day for the international community, which — in defiance of malign U.S. efforts—has protected UNSC Res. 2231 and JCPOA,” Zarif tweeted on Sunday, referring to the 2015 agreement.

According to UN Security Council Resolution 2231, which confirmed the JCPOA – the official name for the nuclear deal, arms embargo against Iran ended last year.

The Iranian Foreign Ministry also said in a statement on October 19 that “as of today, the Islamic Republic of Iran may procure any necessary arms and equipment from any source without any legal restrictions and solely based on its defensive needs.”

The Foreign Ministry added Iran can now “export defensive armaments based on its own policies.”

The U.S. was overwhelmingly defeated by other UN Security Council members when it attempted to extend the arms embargo in August. It subsequently declared a “snapback” of nearly all UN sanctions on Iran against the opposition of the 2015 deal’s European, Russian and Chinese signatories, who called the move void.

For the vast majority of the Security Council, lifting the embargo is crucial to the Iranian nuclear deal’s survival, says RUSI’s Tabrizi.

“It was part of the (2015 Iran nuclear) agreement since the beginning, and not meeting their obligations would mean that the agreement collapses,” Tabrizi told CNBC. “So there is a risk that Iran comes out of the agreement completely.”

The embargo’s expiration allowed Iran to buy major conventional weapons systems, including everything from battle tanks and large-caliber artillery to combat aircraft and warships, and perhaps most importantly, missiles and missile launchers — the latter group already highly developed indigenously in Iran.

Behnam Ben Taleblu, a senior fellow at the hawkish Foundation for Defense of Democracies in Washington, D.C., has acknowledged that Iran has succeeded to indigenize military industry.

“With a likely emphasis on homeland defense and long-range strike capability,” Iran will likely pursue more selective modernization, Taleblu said.

According to CNBC, Iran’s specialty is asymmetric warfare, honed under years of sanctions with the help of reverse engineering to replicate other countries’ missiles and smaller arms — and in some cases, make them better.

Kirsten Fontenrose, director of the Scowcroft Middle East Security Initiative at the Atlantic Council, predicts this capability will only get stronger.

“What we’re worried about is not so much the drones themselves, but the pieces on them, so things like higher-quality engines for the units and optical lenses to improve targeting,” she said during a webinar hosted by Washington-based think tank AGSIW.

“What Iran has shown is that even if they buy a small number of weapons, within 20 years they will produce a variant of that which in some instances is even better than what they bought,” Dave DesRoches, an associate professor and senior military fellow at the National Defense University in Washington, D.C., said during the same webinar.

“So as they make incremental improvements, as they reverse engineer new technologies, integrate new imported motors, they’re getting much more quickly operational, lethal and reproducible capability.”

Initial purchases for Iran might be solid-fuel rocket motors, guidance systems, optical jammers that could counter drones or anti-tank missiles, and small arms like upgraded anti-tank guided missiles, DesRoches said, with China and former Soviet states as key sellers.

The post Iran’s drones have customers in the world appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The MOU was signed by the Head of the Islamic Republic of Iran Customs Administration (IRICA) Mehdi Mir-Ashrafi and the Japanese Ambassador to Iran Ikawa Kazutoshi in Tehran.

The signing ceremony was attended by the foreign affairs ministers of the two countries.

According to the Director General of IRICA’s International Cooperation Department Hossein Kakhaki, the MOU, which is prepared based on the model of the World Customs Organization (WCO) agreement, will provide the ground for mutual assistance and cooperation in customs affairs between Iran and Japan.

Noting that this document is the first MOU signed between the customs of the two countries, Kakhaki added: “By signing this document, the exchange and inquiry of customs documents between the two countries will be facilitated and accelerated.”

According to the official, based on this MOU, the two countries’ customs will cooperate in the fields of research, development, and coordination of new customs procedures, implementation of new methods for training of customs officers, and exchange of customs staff.

Japan has one of the most active customs among the members of the World Customs Organization and the country has a very high potential in the field of technical and technological experiences, he said, adding that the signing of this document provides the necessary basis for developing administrative, technical, educational and research cooperation between the two countries.

The MOU has been signed on the sidelines of a visit by Japanese Foreign Minister Toshimitsu Motegi to Tehran.

During his two-day visit to Tehran, the Japanese foreign minister held talks with a number of senior Iranian officials including President Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a former foreign minister who is nominated to succeed outgoing Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in the new Iranian administration.

Japan has been one of the top trade partners of the Islamic Republic in Asia, however, since the re-imposition of the U.S. sanctions the trade exchanges between the two countries declined significantly.

The two countries are once again taking serious measures for boosting trade as hopes for the revival of the nuclear deal are rising.

The post Tehran, Tokyo ink MOU on customs co-op appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The two chief diplomats held talks on bilateral ties as well as regional and international issues.

During his two-day visit to Tehran, the Japanese foreign minister also plans to hold talks with a number of other Iranian officials including President Ebrahim Raisi and Hossein Amir Abdollahian, a former foreign minister who is nominated to succeed Zarif in the new Iranian administration.

Immediately after his meeting with Motegi, Zarif tweeted he is “pleased to host Japanese FM Motegi in Tehran on Sunday.”

Zarif also said he discussed with Motegi how to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, as well as the “catastrophic” situation created by the United States in Afghanistan.

“In what is probably my last meeting with a counterpart as Iran’s foreign minister, we discussed strengthening bilateral relations, how to resucitate the JCPOA and the catastrophic US-engineered situation in Afghanistan,” Zarif wrote.

 “Open a new chapter”

Earlier, the Iranian embassy in Japan had said that the Japanese foreign minister’s visit to Tehran in the near future, on the eve of the formation of a new government, could open a new chapter for deepening bilateral relations, and close consultations between the two countries on important regional and international issues.

Ahead of his visit, Motegi wrote an opinion piece for Iran’s state news agency, IRNA, explaining the importance of the visit. “Close communication between the two governments is also necessary to strengthen bilateral relations. To this end, I decided to travel to Iran to exchange views at the earliest opportunity with the government of Mr. Raisi, who has recently taken office,” he wrote.

“This is the first time in about two years that the Japanese foreign minister is visiting Iran, and in addition, he will be the first high-ranking foreign official from a developed Asian country to hold face-to-face talks with the new Iranian government. I look forward to having frank consultation to deepen the long-standing friendly relations between the two countries,” Motegi added.

The Japanese foreign minister noted, “In late July, Japan donated a total of about 2.9 million doses of Japanese-made vaccine to Iran as part of its support to prevent the spread of Coronavirus. I personally supported this decision due to the long-standing friendly relations between Japan and Iran. This is the largest donation of vaccine by Japan abroad and the fastest vaccine donation under COVAX. If this support helps strengthen the relations and cooperation between Japan and Iran, it will make me happy.”

“For Japan, which imports about 90 percent of its crude oil from the Middle East [West Asia], peace and stability in the Middle East are crucial. Stable oil supplies from the Middle East are also essential for the stability and growth of the global economy, including Japan. There is no doubt that in this regard, Iran’s role as a major country in the Middle East is very important,” he continued.

Motegi concluded, “Having long-standing friendly relations with Iran, Japan will continue its diplomatic and active efforts to defuse and stabilize the situation in the Middle East, as well as to strengthen bilateral relations between Japan and Iran.”

He had reiterated this position in an earlier interview with the Saudi daily newspaper, Asharq Al Awsat, underlining that he would conduct frank discussions with the region’s countries about the situation in West Asia.

“Japan is in a position where it can openly talk with Iran through its long-standing and traditional friendship with Iran,” he told the Saudi newspaper.

He also pointed to Japan’s continued interaction with Iran. “I have had six direct conversations with the Iranian foreign minister since I took office,” Motegi noted.

The post Japan FM Motegi holds talks with Zarif in Tehran appeared first on Iran News Daily.

The visit took place as Baghdad is preparing to host a regional summit later this month.

Amer al-Fayez, a member of the Iraqi parliament’s Foreign Relations Committee, had previously announced that about 10 countries, including Turkey, Iran, Saudi Arabia and some other Arab countries, as well as some European and American countries, will attend the Baghdad summit.

The two foreign ministers discussed bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments.

It is expected, based on some speculation, that Iraq’s foreign minister will present an invitation to Iran to join the international summit in Baghdad.

No details of Zarif’s talks with Hussein has been published as of now.

Iraq is seeking to establish itself as a mediator between Arab countries and Iran.

Baghdad has been mediating talks between Riyadh and Tehran since April since Saudi Arabia cut ties with Iran in 2016.

Iran’s new President Ebrahim Raisi, who officially took office last week, has said he sees “no obstacles” to restoring ties with the Saudis, and has made improving relations with regional countries one of his administration’s priorities.

Tehran and Riyadh have been at loggerheads over the Saudi-led war on Yemen and the Saudi kingdom’s support for U.S. sanctions against Iran.

The post Iraq FM visits Tehran, meets Zarif and Shamkhani appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Zarif held talks with Shahriar Alam, the State Minister of Foreign Affairs of Bangladesh, who was in Tehran on behalf of his government to attend the inauguration ceremony of Iran’s new president, Seyed Ebrahim Raisi. In the Friday meeting, the Bangladeshi diplomat and the Iranian foreign minister conferred on issues in bilateral relations in different political, economic, and cultural spheres, according to a statement by the Iranian Foreign Ministry.

Zarif thanked the Bangladeshi government for sending a high-ranking delegation headed by the country’s State Minister of Foreign Affairs to the inauguration ceremony of the Iranian president.

He also reviewed different aspects of relations between the two countries in bilateral and multilateral areas, especially collaborations at the Organization of Islamic Cooperation (OIC) and Dhaka’s stances regarding the issue of Palestine.
Foreign Minister Zarif further praised the Dhaka government’s cooperation in the past eight years on promoting ties with Iran.

He also pointed to President Ebrahim Raisi’s special attention to ties with the regional countries, especially the country’s neighbors, and expressed hope that relations and collaborations between Tehran and Dhaka would further expand in the coming period, and the use of creative ways to promote mutual cooperation will continue.

The Bangladeshi diplomat, in turn, highlighted the grounds for the promotion of mutual cooperation in various bilateral fields as well as other areas of cooperation. He also praised Zarif’s eight-year efforts for relations between the two countries.

Issues related to the Rohingya refugees, cooperation at the OIC, and direct flights between the two countries were among other topics discussed by the two top diplomats.
Zarif also met with Nicaraguan Foreign Minister Denis Ronaldo Moncada on Saturday. During the meeting, the two sides discussed the latest developments in bilateral relations and important issues in the Latin American region, as well as the two countries’ resistance to unilateralism and the interference of some parties in the affairs of independent countries.

In this meeting, Zarif appreciated the participation of the high-ranking Nicaraguan delegation headed by the Minister of Foreign Affairs in the inauguration ceremony of the new president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, described the relations between the two countries in various fields as important and called for using appropriate methods to continue cooperation between the two countries.

The Iranian foreign minister also pointed to the similarities between the people of the two countries in terms of enduring the economic pressures imposed by the unilateralism of the United States of America and stressed the undoubted success of the people of the two countries in this field.

The Nicaraguan foreign minister, for his part, expressed his satisfaction with the invitation and attendance at the inauguration of the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran, referring to the historical relations between the two countries and thanked Zarif for his efforts to expand cooperation between the two countries over the past eight years.

Zarif met with many foreign diplomats who participated in the inauguration of Ayatollah Raisi.  One such meeting was held between Zarif and Kuwaiti Foreign Minister Ahmed Nasser Al-Mohammed Al-Sabah. In the meeting, the two ministers discussed bilateral ties as well as the latest situation of the region and other issues of mutual interest.

In his Thursday meeting with Zarif, the Kuwaiti foreign minister once again expressed his congratulation on the election of Raisi as Iran’s new president, reiterating Kuwait City’s determination to expand all-out relations with Tehran.

He also called for more consultations between the two countries on regional and international issues.

The Kuwaiti official lauded Zarif’s endeavors over the past eight years and described as significant the initiatives put forward by Iran to boost regional cooperation in the Persian Gulf region.

Zarif, for his part, praised the respectful, cordial, and close relations between Iran and Kuwait, and reviewed the extensive efforts made to enhance reciprocal ties.

He also announced that the new Iranian president is firm to work towards boosting relations with Iran’s neighbors within the framework of Tehran’s definitive policy.

The post FM Zarif meets Bangladeshi, Nicaraguan diplomats appeared first on Iran News Daily.

On July 20, 2021, Zarif wrote his last and long letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres which was released for the first time by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on July 30.

On July 20, 2021, and on the sixth anniversary of the ratification of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Foreign Minister Zarif, in a letter to the UN chief, documented a wrap-up of the Western parties’ non-implementation of their commitments as a document at the UN Secretariat.

The letter was published in both Persian and English with an introduction by Foreign Minister Zarif, along with the documents of six years of Western non-implementation of the JCPOA written by him on various occasions.

In the introduction of the book, which was published by the Information Institute Publications, it is stated the “Sealed Secret” collection is a descriptive and documented report on the process of one of the most important files in the Iranian history that tries to cast lights on Iran’s important moments in contemporary history.

The book evaluates the narratives and reports that the “mostly American” opposing parties have published and promoted over the past two decades, trying to shape minds and report history as they wish.

The Sealed Secret is a collection of the nuclear negotiations and the JCPOA.

Zarif told reporters on Sunday that the Information Institute will publish the history of the JCPOA in six volumes by the end of the week, and then “people will see what their servants and devotees did in the JCPOA.”

The book has been compiled by Seyed Ali Mojani.

The post Zarif publishes six-volume book on JCPOA appeared first on Iran News Daily.

On July 20, 2021, Zarif wrote his last and long letter to UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres which was released for the first time by the Iranian Foreign Ministry on July 30.

On July 20, 2021, and on the sixth anniversary of the ratification of UN Security Council Resolution 2231, Foreign Minister Zarif, in a letter to the UN chief, documented a wrap-up of the Western parties’ non-implementation of their commitments as a document at the UN Secretariat.

The letter was published in both Persian and English with an introduction by Foreign Minister Zarif, along with the documents of six years of Western non-implementation of the JCPOA written by him on various occasions.

The collection written by Zarif has been prepared in four pages by the Institute for Political and International Studies, the digital version of which is now available to the public.

The printed version of the books will also be available in the publishing market next week, according to the Institute for Political and International Studies.

Zarif confirmed that the letter will be published soon. Speaking on the sidelines of the last session of Hassan Rouhani’s cabinet on Sunday, he said, “In a letter, I wrote to the secretary-general of the United Nations two weeks ago, we recorded the history of this non-compliance since September 2016. And these misdeeds became a book that will be published soon. This shows that we tried our best, but factors outside the government and factors outside the country prevented us from achieving the result we wanted.”

In what appeared to be his parting shot, Zarif elaborated on the Iranian Foreign Ministry’s achievements during his tenure as Iran’s top diplomat. He said the ministry made efforts to import Covid vaccines while focusing on domestic production of these vaccines.

“As the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, we had a duty to help access foreign vaccines, which we did in the service of the Ministry of Health, and we are happy that more than 10 million foreign vaccines have entered the country so far, and we plan to import further 10 million more in the coming months. And this important shortcoming that is general vaccination will be addressed,” he stated.

Zarif noted, “Efforts have been made in the field of economic diplomacy and credibility abroad, and I think today the world is looking at Iranians as a reasonable and reliable person and a person who stands by his word but does not bow to oppression.”

“World realized it is America that needs to change its behavior”

He went on to inveigh against the U.S. non-compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

“We defeated the Americans in the JCPOA despite the fact that the American economic power was able to put pressure on the people, but they failed three times in two months in the United Nations. These show that our people have proved to the world who creates the problem in the world and who must change his behavior. Today, the people of the world realized that it is America that needs to change its behavior. You remember that the United States was announcing that Iran should change its behavior, and this achievement is a gift to these great people,” the Iranian foreign minister pointed out.

Responding to a question on what was the most important thing that he did in the last eight years, Zarif said, “The most important thing we did was the JCPOA.”

“JCPOA was a temporary development to exclude Iran from Chapter Seven of the UN Charter. If the JCPOA was not in our favor, they [the West] would not have made a condition for it to continue today. They feel sad at the JCPOA, so they try to add regional and missile issues to it while we want to add nothing to it. We believe in the JCPOA in its original format. We are not saying to add other issues to the JCPOA. Who says to add issues to the JCPOA? The United States and Europe. Why do they say? Because it shows that they could not do this in the JCPOA.”

“By the end of the week, the Etela’at Institute will publish a six-volume history of the JCPOA negotiations, and people will see what their servants and devotees have done at the Foreign Ministry,” Zarif said, noting, “The fact that the United States and Europe are non-compliant countries and failed to live up to their promise does not mean that we trusted them, it does not mean that we negotiated badly, but it does indicate that there are a number of countries in the world that do not adhere to international rules. They are not committed.”

In response to the question about what was the best thing that he wanted to do in these eight years but could not, he said, “I wanted us to be able to attract more capital to the country. $85 billion was an investment proposal. I wanted to attract these funds to serve the Iranian people. If we had had the opportunity to attract these funds, the sanctions on Iran would have been much lower.”

He added, “We can be vaccinated against sanctions in two ways. One is by making the world dependent on ourselves, whether in the global value cycle or in foreign investment, in a way that imposing sanctions on us affects others, and the second is to reduce the effects of sanctions on Iran. The same thing as what the Leader called Resistance Economy. These two points can prevent sanctions, part of which is not in the hands of the Foreign Ministry. We did what we could do.”

Zarif stated, “We do not trust anyone except God and our people, which is the way of life in the world. We do not trust any strangers, but not trusting does not mean not interacting.”

Zarif asserted, “We, as the Islamic Republic, have a duty to interact with the world, to interact with open eyes, we must not trust anyone. International relations are not a place of trust, even the closest ally in international relations cannot be trusted, but we do not have an ally.”

“I testify that none of the negotiators ever trusted the United States. If we wanted to trust, the result would be the same two-page document that Trump signed with some. If you see, we ended up with 160 pages of the document because of distrust. It was because we wanted to express all issues.”

The post Iran to publish book on U.S. non-compliance with JCPOA appeared first on Iran News Daily.

“I was very affected by the fire that broke out in some parts of Turkey. We share the pain of the government and people of Turkey and we will stand by them,” Zarif tweeted.

“May God have mercy on the deceased, I wish a speedy recovery to the injured,” he added.

“Our prayers and opportunities will be at the service of our brothers in Turkey,” Zarif underlined.

Also on Friday, Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh announced Tehran’s solidarity with the brotherly country of Turkey and expressed condolences to the families of the victims.

At least four people have been killed in southern Turkey as forest fires raged near tourist coastal regions for a third day.

Firefighters were still tackling wildfires in six provinces in Turkey’s Mediterranean and southern Aegean region, Turkey’s Agriculture and Forestry Minister Bekir Pakdemirli said.

But authorities say the majority have been brought under control.

More than 50 others wildfires that broke out since Wednesday amid strong winds and scorching heat were extinguished.

The worst fires hit the Manavgat and Akseki regions in Antalya province, where an 82-year-old man and a married couple died. More than 50 people were hospitalized and at least 25 villages or districts were evacuated.

Images showed flames briefly threatening holiday homes and beach resorts near the town of Bodrum, where some guests were evacuated by boat.

More than 4,000 firefighters, assisted by helicopters and planes, are trying to bring the fires under control. The Russian embassy also said on Thursday that three water bombers were assisting in the firefighting operations.

Azerbaijan has also sent 500 emergency workers, helicopters and other equipment to help. Neighboring Greece and France have also offered help.

Janez Lenarcic, the European Commissioner for Crisis Management, said on Friday that the bloc is “following the wildfires on Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean coasts with great concern.”

“I am conveying my condolences to all those who have lost their loved ones.”

“We stand ready to help,” he added.

The mayor for Marmaris said he couldn’t rule out “sabotage” as a cause for the fire there. In other provinces, authorities declared a ban on people entering forests in a bid to prevent more fires.

Wildfires are common in Turkey’s Mediterranean and Aegean regions during the arid summer months.

According to The New York Times, the blazes are part of a broader pattern of wildfires afflicting the Mediterranean this summer, with areas in Lebanon, Syria, Greece, Italy and Cyprus also battling fast-moving fires.

They are also the latest in a series of extreme weather events around the planet — from deadly floods in Europe and China to raging fires in the United States, Canada, and Siberia — that scientists believe are linked to changes in the climate resulting from global warming.

Cagatay Tavsanoglu, a biology professor specializing in fire ecology at Hacettepe University in Ankara, Turkey, said fires in the Mediterranean basin are an annual occurrence, but the extent of the blazes this year should serve as a warning.

“Many fires could not be put out, and with the influence of dry winds, burning happened too fast,” Tavsanoglu said. “It is just the first indications of what climate change would do to the Mediterranean region in the future.”

Lebanese firefighters struggled for the second day on Thursday to contain wildfires in the country’s north that have spread across the border into Syria, civil defense officials in both countries said.

The fires killed at least one person, a 15-year-old boy, who was helping firefighting efforts in Lebanon, The Globe and Mail reported.

The post Zarif says affected by deadly forest fires in Turkey, offers Iran’s help to contain fires appeared first on Iran News Daily.

Kazem Gharibabadi, Iran’s permanent ambassador to the Vienna-based International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), made the remarks in an interview published on Ayatollah Khamenei’s official website, khamenei.ir, on Wednesday.

During a last meeting with the outgoing President Hassan Rouhani and his cabinet team on Wednesday, Ayatollah Khamenei reminded how the Western side had been trying during the recent nuclear talks to include a condition in the deal that would turn into an excuse for subsequent interference in Iran’s affairs.

The Leader cited the Rouhani administration’s experience of dealing with the West on the issue of the nuclear agreement as an important case in point that had clearly shown “trust in the West does not work and will not work [in the future either].”

Since April Iran has been negotiating with the remaining parties to the nuclear deal with an indirect involvement of the U.S. to revive the deal ditched in May 2018 by Donald Trump. Six rounds of talks were held until June 20.

“Some of our diplomats really performed well, but the Americans stuck to their hostile position in an obstinate matter and they did not take a step forward. On paper and in words, they say that they will remove the sanctions, but they have not removed and are not going to remove them. The Americans have laid down a condition: they say that if we wish sanctions to be removed, we should include a clause in the agreement which signifies that we are willing to negotiate over certain matters in the future. They say that if we do not accept this clause, we will not have an agreement in the present time. What is this clause? This clause is actually a pretext for future interferences,” Ayatollah Khamenei warned.

The Trump administration left the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and imposed the heaviest sanctions in history against Iran. It even refused to loosen sanctions during the Coronavirus pandemic.

Under the agreement, Iran had agreed to put limits on its nuclear activities in exchange for termination of economic and financial sanctions.

Washington’s European allies party to the accord—the UK, France, and Germany—just paid lip service to the JCPOA and in practice did nothing to protect Iran from illegal sanctions.

The sanctions were in sharp contrast to international law because the nuclear pact is being endorsed by UN Security Council Resolution 2231.

In a move, pointed out by the Leader during the Wednesday meeting, they have even been trying to advance a provision that could pave the way for their meddling in the Islamic Republic’s affairs.

Gharibabadi went on to offer some details about the controversial provision and the reasons why it was completely unnecessary.

The West alleges that the so-called provision “guarantees the JCPOA’s nuclear non-proliferation” goals and also mandates certain “trust-building measures” among the Persian Gulf countries, the envoy said.

This is while there is no need for either, the envoy said. The nuclear deal has its own timetables that ensure implementation of its purposes, he said, adding the other demand runs strictly counter to the talks’ agenda too.

 “New pressure tactics”

Therefore, Gharibabadi said, the Iranian side roundly rejected the proposal since this insistence “showed that they still consider the nuclear agreement to be a bridge enabling their interference in irrelevant issues such as Iran’s missile work and its regional affairs.”

“The purpose they seek through this is to start addressing these [irrelevant] issues [on various occasions] and consider them to be indivisible parts of the nuclear deal, and [therefore] lay the groundwork for their interference in these areas,” Ambassador Gharibabadi asserted, according to Press TV.

Thus, wherever, the Western side stopped short of its goals, it would be able to start blaming Iran and begin trying to put it under more pressure, the diplomat cautioned.

The official echoed the Leader’s remarks during the Wednesday meeting that such insistence on the part of the Americans had come while they, themselves, had “refused to retrace even one step towards reversing their adversarial stance concerning Iran.”

Among many other things, the diplomat said, they conditioned the lifting of some of the sanctions and removing the Islamic Revolution Guards Corps (IRGC) from their so-called blacklist on Iran’s resigning itself to the provision.

Neither did they agree to recognize an overdue end to an embargo on sales of conventional weapons to Iran, nor approve of lifting their bans on more than 500 Iranian natural and artificial persons, the envoy explained.

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has also censured the United States and E3 over their “ill-intention” with regard to Iran and trying to blackmail Iran into renegotiating the deal.

“The U.S. and E3 have been transparent about their transgressions and have repeatedly stated their ill-intention to compel Iran to renegotiate [the JCPOA] provisions through economic pressure and blackmail,” Zarif said in a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres published on Friday.

 “Counter-approach”

Gharibabadi went on to delineate Iran’s counter-approach in the face of the West’s attempted inroads.

He said that during the whole time while the West had been either violating its commitments to the deal or trying to bring Iran under new pressure, the positions adopted by the establishment and a law ratified by the Majlis (Parliament) mandating further remedial nuclear steps on the part of the Islamic Republic had, in turn, improved Tehran’s position in the talks.

Now, faced with the West’s new pressure tactics, the country would try, on the one hand, to guard its improved standing, and advance its interests on the other, Gharibabadi stated.

Towards the purpose, the country would never lose sight of the fact that it was the U.S. that began compromising the JCPOA in the first place, “so care should be exercised for the complainant and the defendant’s rolls not to be switched here,” the envoy added.

Besides, the Islamic Republic prioritizes insistence on the practical and verifiable lifting of the sanctions on its agenda, and also tries to ensure that the U.S. would never be able to redeploy the sanctions weapon against it either, he said.

Thirdly, Tehran would resolutely stand by its assertion that neither the talks nor the nuclear deal are allowed to feature any irrelevant subject matters such as Iran’s defensive missile program or its regional influence.

“No Iranian official or institution stands against achievement of a good deal that would bring about practical removal of the sanctions. However, given the past experience, one should tread more vigilantly and more perceptively,” Gharibabadi said in conclusion.

The post Diplomat elaborates on the West’s ulterior motives in nuclear talks appeared first on Iran News Daily.