Continuing Iran’s diplomatic offensive to separate Europe from the US, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has chided the “visceral hatred” of Washington towards the Islamic Republic.
Zarif seized the initiative on Twitter on Friday, contrasting the positions of the European Union and the US towards the July 2015 nuclear agreement:
The UN & entire world say Iran is in full compliance with its commitments, but US visceral hatred of Iran compels it to deny the obvious.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 30, 2017
Excellent meetings with leaders in Berlin, Rome & Paris. Despite US reckless hostility, EU committed to #JCPOA & constructive engagement.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 30, 2017
Zarif has spent this week lambasting the US, beginning with speeches and meetings with German officials in Berlin. He has derided US arms sales to Saudi Arabia, criticized American intervention in Syria — while saying nothing about Iran’s own military operations in that country — and taken advantage of the partial introduction of Donald Trump’s “Muslim Ban”, denying entry to the US to refugees and some citizens of six mainly-Muslim countries:
U.S. now bans Iranian grandmothers from seeing their grandchildren, in a truly shameful exhibition of blind hostility to all Iranians.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) June 29, 2017
There have been some signs of European distancing from the US, at least on the nuclear issue. On Thursday, the UN Security Council reaffirmed Iran’s compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal and called on all parties to continue adherence to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. While cautioning Iran over its ballistic missile tests and arms deliveries to other countries, European ambassadors also expressed concern about ongoing — and possibly expanding — US sanctions.
See Iran Daily, June 30: UN Calls for Full Implementation of Nuclear Deal
