Iran Self-Reliant Enough to Survive without JCPOA: Zarif
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Tehran is self-reliant enough to survive without the 2015 JCPOA nuclear deal, but if Europe does not save it, it won't be the last international accord the US will trample, the Iranian foreign minister said.
“The Europeans must know that the appetite of the US for breaking international law – whenever and wherever it serves them – will not stop at (the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action),” Zarif told RT.
“A bully’s appetite will only grow if they see no reaction,” he added.
Zarif further referred to Washington’s sanctions against Tehran and said the country has managed to recover.
Iran has been through a forty-year experience of living under pressure, and “will build our future with or without the JCPOA,” Zarif vowed. The pact is “an important achievement that should not be destroyed,” but its demise – however regrettable – would be “a blow to diplomacy, not a blow to Iran.”
Recently, Tehran signaled that it is still ready to talk to the US, provided that it lifts all sanctions imposed on Iran.
“We will never negotiate under pressure, we will never negotiate with the knowledge that the outcome of these negotiations will only last for one presidency,” Zarif said.
As for the future of the US, Zarif predicted the weaponization of its economy – as well as its animosity towards Russia and China – will spell “the demise of American economic might.”
We believe that the era of global hegemony is gone, the Iranian foreign minister concluded.