Iranian FM Warns World Against Meddling in Islamic Republic Affairs, After German Vice Chancellor Makes Recognition of Israel Condition for Ties With Tehran
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by Ruthie Blum
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. Photo: NBC/Screenshot.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif declared that no other country has the right to dictate to Tehran what its policies should be, the regime-aligned news agency Tasnim reported on Sunday.
According to the report, Zarif told this to the state-owned TV outlet the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting on Saturday night, in response to a statement by German Vice Chancellor Sigmar Gabriel in Der Speigel. Gabriel, who is scheduled to visit Iran in a few days in his role as Minister for Economic Affairs and Energy, said that Berlin and Tehran could only enjoy amicable relations if and when the Islamic Republic recognized and accepted Israel’s right to exist.
“Iran is an independent country with definite policies, and different countries know about [these] policies, which are constructive,” Zarif said, referring to Tehran’s open hostility to the Jewish state, which it claims is infringing on the rights of Palestinians.
Zarif — who served as his country’s chief negotiator in the talks that led to the signing of the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers in July 2015 — was also making it clear, Tasnim said, that Iran would not put up with meddling on the part of Germany or any other state in its internal affairs, and would not accept conditions placed on its forging of international ties.
Zarif’s criticism comes amid a flurry of military activity emanating from Iran, with its army and navy unveiling new long-range ballistic missiles.
American Foreign Policy Council vice president Ilan Berman told The Algemeiner last month that the nuclear deal “has emboldened Iran as it seeks to expand its global reach and build an anti-America axis in the Western hemisphere… The Iranians have always had a global vision, but for a long time they didn’t have the resources to capitalize on it. Now, as sanctions begin to fall away, their global vision is back front and center. They’re starting to think spatially, in terms of where they fit globally — in Europe, in Asia and in Latin America.”
