Iran’s Zarif Urges London to Stop Parroting US, Take Honorable Path for Change
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif slammed the UK for “parroting US line and blindly abetting its terrorist adventurism in our region”, calling on London to take the “honorable path” for a change.
“Diplomatic malpractice? UK is parroting US line & blindly abetting its terrorist adventurism in our region. The last time UK was dragged along to infamy by the US was in Iraq war. How did that work out? Take the honorable path for a change: settle court-ordered debt to Iranians,” Zarif tweeted late on Monday.
The comment came shortly after the Iranian Foreign Ministry issued a strongly-worded statement condemning wrong and unwarranted positions taken and remarks made by British officials after the US assassinated Iran's top commander, Lt. General Qassem Soleimani, and his companions in Baghdad.
In a follow-up tweet, Zarif called on the three European powers - France, Germany, and the UK - to stop bowing to the US' diktat and rather “muster the courage” to fulfill their obligations under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
“For 20 months, the E3-following UK appeasement policy-has bowed to US diktat. That hasn't gotten it anywhere-and it never will. E3 can save JCPOA but not by appeasing the bully & pressuring the complying party. Rather it should muster the courage to fulfill its own obligations,” he wrote.
Recently, the leaders of Britain, France and Germany called in a joint statement on Iran to return to full compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal and reverse its countermeasures against the West's failures vis-a-vis Tehran.
Iran last week announced the decision to take the fifth and final step in reducing commitment under the JCPOA.
In May 2018, US President Donald Trump pulled his country out of the JCPOA.
Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.
The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal, including a rise in the stockpile of enriched uranium.
Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.
