Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif travelled to Rome, Italy, where he was invited to participate in a forum for Mediterranean Dialogue. Ahead of his trip, the Iranian top diplomat condemned both the United States and Israel, based on his claim that they are responsible for much of the instability across the chaotic region. The Iranian Foreign Minister said: “I am here to participate in the Mediterranean conference. It gives us an opportunity to discuss the very difficult and dangerous situation in our region. A situation arising from extremism as well as erroneous U.S. policies and the policies of Israel in this region as well as many mistakes that are being committed in our region by some of our neighbors.” Speaking at the international conference, Minister Zarif reiterated that the Islamic Republic will not renegotiate an agreement with the world regarding its nuclear program. He underlined that while the United States demanded to revisit the terms of the agreement, in exchange for its re-imposed sanctions regime; the Iranian public cannot trust the Trump Administration to abide by any commitments. However, when asked whether the economic pressure would not force the Ayatollah regime to concede, the Iranian top diplomat asserted that Iran’s population will come together and live through the sanctions. In his words “The outcome in Tehran is that less reliance on engagement. The population believes that the engagement did not provide the intended results. I think the Iranian people will in-fact come together and live through the sanctions. We have lived through more difficult times. And I want to go back to the Iran-Iraq war, we lived through eight years of war when the Iraqis were supported by everybody. The Soviets gave them MIG fighters, the French gave them Mirage airplanes, the brits gave the chieftain tanks, the Germans gave them chemical weapons, the Americans gave them AVEC reconnaissance, the Saudis gave them 75 billion dollars of arms, the Kuwaitis gave them their ports – everybody chipped-in to support them. And we were just after the Arab Revolution. Not only have we survived, but we have made progress, we advanced, and we will do it again.”
