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Zarif: Riyadh and Washington are fomenting ‘dangerous escalations’ in Middle East

SHAFAQNA | BY Leila Yazdani : At the Doha Forum in Qatar, Iranian foreign Minister Javad Zarif rejected the label of the world’s top sponsor of terrorism ascribed to it by Saudi Arabia and the U.S. He accused Riyadh and Washington of fomenting ‘dangerous escalations’ in the Middle East.

Speaking to CNBC’s Hadley Gamble at the Doha Forum in Qatar, Iranian foreign Minister Javad Zarif said ” I think actions speak much louder than words; what is happening in our region, now people are witnessing the source of instability in region, be it in Yemen, be it elsewhere. It’s the wrong policies that are being followed, not only by Saudi Arabia but by its allies in the West who have given it a blank check to continue to make these very dangerous escalations in the region,” Zarif added.

Zarif on Saturday attended the annual conference which is focused on security, peace and mediation, economic development and trends and transitions.

Sanctions will have no impact on Iran policies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday said US sanctions will have no impact on the policies of the Islamic republic at home or abroad. “It is obvious that we are facing pressure by the US sanctions. But will that lead to a change in policy? I can assure you it won’t,” Zarif told the Doha Forum policy conference in Qatar. “If there is an art we have perfected in Iran and can teach to others for a price, it is the art of evading sanctions,” he added.

The US imposed two sets of sanctions on Iran this year, after earlier unilaterally pulling out of the Iran nuclear deal with global powers.

Zarif denied Tehran had ever armed the Houthis

Discussing the Yemen conflict, Zarif denied Tehran had ever armed the Houthi rebels battling pro-government forces in the country. “We have never provided weapons to Houthis,” he said when challenged on what arms it had supplied.

“They have enough weapons, they don’t need weapons from Iran,” Zarif said.

He said there were only “allegations” that Iran had sent weapons to Yemen, whereas there were “facts” that other countries had shipped arms.

“I don’t need to show any evidence about the jets that were flying in Yemen bombing the Yemenis. “Those are American-made jets and those are Saudi fighters, I assume, which are piloting those jets,” Zarif said. “If there are allegations about Iranian weapons, there are facts about US weapons, facts about Saudis bombing the hell out of the Yemenis,” he added.

The conference will last until Sunday, under the theme “Shaping Policy in an Interconnected World” , ifpnews mentioned.

US was responsible for the humanitarian nightmare

Zarif said the United States and its ally Saudi Arabia were responsible for the “humanitarian nightmare” in war-torn Yemen.

He also accused Riyadh of seeking “tension” with Iran, AFP mentioned.

Zarif also alluded to the murder of Saudi journalist Jamal Kashoggi, saying Saudi Arabia believes “it can get away with murder”.

Resolution 2231 had not imposed any ban on Iran’s missile program

“First of all, Iran’s missiles are for defense and we need them for deterrence. We use resources for military expenses far less than any country in the region and that’s why we have announced from the very beginning that our missiles are non-negotiable,” Zarif said in an interview with the Doha-based Al Jazeera broadcaster on Saturday.

Zarif, who is in Qatar to attend the Doha Forum 2018, made the remarks in response to a question about US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s allegation in a post on his Twitter account on December 1, who claimed that Iran had “just test-fired a medium range ballistic missile” in violation of United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. Pompeo condemned as “growing” Tehran’s “missile testing and missile proliferation,” and called on the Islamic Republic to cease these activities , Press TV told.

UN Security Council Resolution 2231 enshrined the 2015 international nuclear agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), from which Washington has withdrawn under the pretext, among others.

Zarif added that Resolution 2231 did not prohibit Iran from testing missiles but had banned the Islamic Republic from testing missiles aimed at carrying nuclear warheads.

This is while the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) has verified that “Iran’s missile activities are for peaceful purposes,” the top Iranian diplomat pointed out. In an interview with Tasnim news agency on Tuesday, Zarif said UN Security Council Resolution 2231 had not imposed any ban on Iran’s missile program.

“The second point is that the United States is in clear violation of the Security Council Resolution 2231 by withdrawing from the JCPOA [Iran nuclear deal] so it puts them in no position to talk about that resolution because they have tried to destroy the resolution. The resolution stands in spite of them not because of them,” he added. The third point is that the resolution is very clear. It does not prohibit Iran from testing missiles but the resolution refers to missiles that are designed to be capable of carrying nuclear warheads and the nuclear deal and Resolution 2231 have verified that Iran does not seek nuclear weapons, the Iranian foreign minister added, iran-daily mentioned.

Discussing latest developments in Iran-Qatar ties

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has held talks with his Qatari counterpart Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani in the Arab state’s capital of Doha. During the Saturday talks held on the sidelines of Doha Forum, the two sides discussed the latest developments in bilateral ties, and the most important regional and international issues.

Prior to this meeting, Zarif met and held talks with Qatari Prime Minister Sheikh Abdullah bin Nasser bin Khalifa Al Thani on expansion of bilateral relations, as well as promotion of regional security and stability, and voiced support for the progress of peace talks in Yemen, mehrnews reported.

 

Read more from Shafaqna:

Iran’s Zarif‏: US responsible for miseries from Saddam to ISIS

Iran’s Zarif blames U.S Complicity in war crimes

Zarif: Iran don’t give in to coercion

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