Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Wednesday strongly criticized the European Union trio of Britain, France and Germany for failing to counter Washington’s “economic terrorism” against Iran, saying the trio are instead turning the spotlight on the Islamic Republic’s defensive missile program to appease the Trump administration.
“A year after US’ unlawful abrogation of JCPOA, Europe can’t muster political will to defy US’ #EconomicTERRORISM. Not even by setting up a single banking channel for humanitarian aid,” Zarif tweeted.
A year after US' unlawful abrogation of JCPOA, Europe can't muster political will to defy US' #EconomicTERRORISM. Not even by setting up a single banking channel for humanitarian aid.
E3 are instead busy appeasing @realDonaldTrump by pressuring UN over our defensive capabilities pic.twitter.com/o12KpUqZZM
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 3, 2019
In May last year President Donald Trump ordered U.S. withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and reimposed sanctions against Iran.
In a letter to UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres on Tuesday, the European trio claimed that Iran’s launch of a space vehicle and the unveiling of two new missiles in February were “inconsistent” with the Resolution 2231 endorsing the JCPOA. According to the Press TV, the three countries, which are signatories to the JCPOA along with the U.S., Russia and China, asked Guterres to “report fully and thoroughly on Iranian ballistic missile activity” in his next report, which is expected in June.
In his tweet, Zarif added, “E3 are instead busy appeasing @realDonaldTrump by pressuring UN over our defensive capabilities.”
Iran says neither its space program nor its missile launches are banned under Resolution 2231.
The resolution, adopted in July 2015, terminated the provisions of previous UN Security Council resolutions against Iran, some of which had imposed restrictions on Iranian missile activities. The resolution merely calls on Iran “to refrain from any activity related to ballistic missiles designed to be capable of delivering nuclear weapons.”
Zarif also denounced US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s unprofessional, interventionist and demagogic comments on the recent floods in Iran.
In his statement, Zarif said, “Secretary Pompeo and other US officials -who have with their economic terrorism endeavored to target each and every Iranian, and even tried to obstruct efforts by expatriate Iranians to make donations to the accounts of the Iranian Red Crescent- are well-advised to address the calamities of disaster-struck Americans who have been suffering from natural disasters for months, instead of trying to take abnormal and politically-driven advantage of the suffering of human beings afflicted by natural disasters.”
My response to the unprofessional, interventionist and demagogic comments of @SecPompeo on the devastating floods—and the humanitarian rescue and aid operations—in Iran. pic.twitter.com/OV3vHsKyae
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) April 4, 2019
