Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the United States’ foreign policy is “imprisoned by delusions and failed policies”.
The remarks by Zarif came after U.S. Secretary of States Mike Pompeo in a detailed speech demanded that Iran halt all uranium enrichment, stop its ballistic-missile program and give nuclear inspectors access to the entire country.
The remarks by Pompeo came nearly two weeks after his boss Donald Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 international nuclear deal. Trump’s move came despite the fact that the UN’s nuclear watchdog, in charge of monitoring Iran’s compliance with the deal, has confirmed that Tehran has abided by the terms of the agreement.
“US diplomacy sham is merely a regression to old habits: imprisoned by delusions & failed policies—dictated by corrupt Special Interest—it repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards,” Foreign Minister Zarif tweeted.
Zarif said Iran “is working with partners for post-US JCPOA solutions”.
European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini also responded to Pompeo, saying there is “no alternative” to the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Zarif says the U.S. “repeats the same wrong choices and will thus reap the same ill rewards.”In his speech at the Heritage Foundation, Pompeo also said Washington would impose unprecedented sanctions against Tehran.
“Secretary Pompeo’s speech has not demonstrated how walking away from the JCPOA has made or will make the region safer from the threat of nuclear proliferation or how it puts us in a better position to influence Iran’s conduct in areas outside the scope of JCPOA,” Mogherini said in a statement, according to AFP.
Mogherini called on the U.S. to keep its commitments as part of the agreement signed under Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama.
“The JCPOA is the result of more than a decade of complex and delicate negotiations, based on dual track approach and therefore the best possible outcome, striking the right balance,” Mogherini said, according to AFP.
“This deal belongs to the international community, having been endorsed by the United Nations Security Council. The international community expects all sides to keep the commitments they made more than two years ago,” she added.
Mogherini stressed right after Trump withdrew from the agreement that the EU would remain in the agreement and will do so “as long as Iran continues to implement its nuclear related commitments, as it is doing so far.”
Last week she said that EU countries are “talking about solutions to keep the deal alive,” while adding that measures would seek to allow Iran to keep exporting oil and for European banks to continue to operate.