Behrouz Mehri—AFP
Tehran’s foreign minister condemns U.S. secretary of state’s threats of military action.
Iran hit out Friday against U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry, accusing him of threatening military action against Tehran if it fails to respect a historic nuclear deal sealed on July 14.
“Unfortunately the U.S. secretary of state once again talked about the rotten rope of ‘the ability of the U.S. for using military force’,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a statement.
Zarif decried what he called the “uselessness of such empty threats against the nation of Iran and the resistance of the nation of Iran”, and said such remarks should be consigned “to the last century.”
Despite the agreement reached with Iran on putting the nuclear bomb out of Tehran’s reach, several U.S. officials, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, have signaled that military force remains on the table to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.
Kerry and other American officials “have repeatedly admitted that these threats have no effect on the will of the people of Iran and that it will change the situation to their disadvantage,” Zarif claimed. “Therefore, it would be better for Americans to abandon their old habit and put aside once and for all their threatening language and sanctions against this great people,” he added.
Under the July 14 agreement, Iran has agreed to dismantle or mothball much of its nuclear industry in return for an easing and eventual lifting of sanctions.
World powers have called it a historic opportunity to set relations with Iran on a new path.