Zarif: We are prepared for the worst possible scenario

Iran's foreign minister called the US a disease that is "addicted to sanctions." Referring to his "mistake" in trusting the Americans, Zarif said the JCPOA would survive without Washington's presence. According to Zarif, Iran is prepared for the "worst-case scenario."

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in his first interview with foreign media since Washington withdrew from the JCPOA, participated in an interview with CNN, in which he called the United States a disease that is “addicted to sanctions.” He ruled out negotiating with the United States or renegotiating the JCPOA, saying that Iran is prepared for the “worst possible scenario.”

In response to the question of why Iran continued the JCPOA despite being aware of America's "addiction" to sanctions, Zarif said: "This was one of the mistakes. The problem was that we thought America had learned that in the case of Iran, sanctions create economic difficulties but do not lead to the political results they were aiming for. I thought the Americans had learned this lesson. Unfortunately, I was wrong about that."

Last week, Ali Khamenei, the leader of the Islamic Republic, said in remarks that were later removed from Iranian websites and later edited, that he had made a "mistake" in the nuclear negotiations and had allowed the Iranian foreign minister to negotiate with the United States.

In his interview with CNN, Zarif also ruled out the possibility of negotiations with Washington and emphasized that Iran's nuclear agreement with world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), will continue to exist even without the presence of the United States.

However, the Iranian Foreign Minister said yesterday that the European Union "is not yet ready to spend money" to preserve the JCPOA, and that European actions so far have been "more of a statement of position than an operational one."

When asked whether there was a possibility of a meeting between Rouhani and Trump, similar to the meeting between the leaders of the United States and North Korea, Zarif ruled out such a possibility, saying, "No; when our previous great progress has been thrown away." He added that "the previous agreement was a test for us of whether we can trust America or not."

In his speech last week, the Leader of the Islamic Republic ruled out negotiations with the United States and announced that he would ban them.

Mohammad Javad Zarif, in response to a question about the possibility of a “sustainable agreement” with the US President, also said: “It depends on President Trump. Whether he wants to do something that makes us believe that he is a trustworthy party or not.” Regarding the Islamic Republic’s distrust of the US President, the Iranian Foreign Minister added: “If we waste our time on him and he signs another agreement, how sustainable will it be? Until the end of his presidency? Or until he leaves the place where the agreement was signed?”

Zarif also referred to the Iranian government's new economic policies, referring to economic problems and the devaluation of the national currency. He said: "The economic developments you are seeing now are due to the measures that had to be taken to prepare for those days (the days of sanctions); therefore, we are prepared for the worst possible scenario."

On May 8, US President Donald Trump announced the US withdrawal from the nuclear deal with Iran. The first round of sanctions began on August 5, including on the Islamic Republic's purchase and supply of dollars, trade in gold and precious metals, and automobile manufacturing. On November 4, US sanctions will be imposed on oil and energy, and transactions by the Iranian Central Bank.

The return of US sanctions against Iran had an impact on the Iranian economy even before they were implemented. Following severe currency market turmoil since early this year (2018), the value of the Iranian rial has almost halved. The currency market turmoil coincided with a rush by Iranian citizens to buy dollars, an action that people took in order to protect the value of their cash assets.

However, First Vice President Eshaq Jahangiri expressed optimism two days ago that despite the "dangerous" conditions and sanctions and Iran's economic crisis, the country is "not at a dead end" and can withstand US sanctions by relying on its human resources and natural resources.

The US withdrawal from the JCPOA and the reimposition of sanctions against Iran have met with opposition from the Europeans. Despite the EU's emphasis on protecting European companies doing business with Iran, many of these companies have already announced that they will cease their activities in Iran.

Source: DW