Zarif: US on Collision Course With Int’l Community

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Iran’s stance that its 2015 nuclear agreement with world powers is non-negotiable for modifications does not put it on a “collision course” with the United States. The top diplomat made the statement in a late September interview with Newsweek, the transcript of which was published on Friday as cited by Press TV. Asked whether Iran’s insistence that the deal is not open to renegotiating would put it on a “collision course” with the US, Zarif said, “We’re not putting ourselves on a collision course with anybody ... And I believe they are putting themselves on a collision course with the international community.” The nuclear pact has been verified by the International Atomic Energy Agency and endorsed by a UN resolution. As a result, the other signatories, namely Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany, have expressed their commitment to continue to uphold the deal, even if the US were to unilaterally quit the pact.  “Every aspect of the deal had been fully and repeatedly renegotiated before we reached an agreement. Everybody else who participated in [it] … knows that if we reopen the deal to negotiation, we would be reopening Pandora’s box, which would be impossible to close again.” Zarif censured the Trump administration for trying “very explicitly” to prevent Iran from “benefiting” from the nuclear agreement by creating a “tense atmosphere”.  Should Washington walk out of the deal, Iran would pursue “options within international law that are available in the agreement”. Zarif stressed.