Zarif: US closest allies standing against anti-nuclear deal policies

Zarif made the remarks while reacting to the remarks made by US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson in a meeting with his Saudi Arabian counterpart Adel Al-Jubair on imposing new sanctions against Iran

Tillerson began a visit to Saudi Arabia on the first leg of a six-day trip that will also take him to Qatar, Pakistan, India and the Switzerland.

Unfortunately, the Americans do not want to rectify their viewpoints towards Iran and accept that Tehran greatly contributes to regional stability and security as well as fighting against terrorism, Zarif said

If it were not for the sacrifices of the defenders of shrine (a term used in Iran to refer to the Iranian military advisors in Syria), Daesh government was now in place in Damascus, Baghdad and Erbil, Zarif added.

“Syrian, Iraqi and people of the Iraqi Kurdistan stood against Daesh with the help of Iran, a major contributor to the regional stability,” he said.

Unfortunately, US allies were sources of instability and crisis in the region, Zarif said adding, as time goes by, more Americans understand that the US itself suffers more from its wrong attitude.

Zarif called on the US statesmen to correct their wrong policies without hesitation and in order to save the region from increasing damage, stop supporting the Saudi Arabia which kills children and the old people in Yemen.

As for Iran’s membership in BRICS, the top diplomat said, Iran is keen on a wide-scale cooperation with the group, as Tehran regards the bloc as one of the emerging economies in the world.

BRICS is the acronym for an association of five major emerging national economies: Brazil, Russia, India, China and South Africa.

Zarif also hoped that grounds will be prepared for further cooperation with BRICS.

Describing Iran’s relations with the South Africa, Zarif said, Tehran gave great significace to South Africa’s freedom seeking movement under the leadership of the late Nelson Mandela and enjoyed best relations with the South African new and popular government after the country’s liberation from Apartheid.

South Africa is a major economy and a member of BRICS and it is one of the major countries which are promoting their economic exchanges, Zarif said, hoping that his visit to the country will be a productive for both the Iranian and South African nations.

Zarif late on Saturday started his African tour which will take him first to Pretoria in South Africa and later to Uganda and Niger.

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