The United States has repeatedly called for the creation of a maritime coalition in the Gulf to maintain “freedom of navigation” after Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps seized a British tanker in the area last month.
Speaking to reporters on Monday, Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif stated that the US had failed to create an allied naval coalition in the Persian Gulf.
“Today, the United States is alone in the world and cannot create a coalition [in the Gulf]. Countries that are its friends are too ashamed of being in a coalition with them”, he pointed out.
Zarif said the US is accountable for Gulf tensions which caused “misery and stressed that Iran is responsible for the region’s safety and security. He also blamed the UK for its involvement in US “economic terrorism” against Iran
Zarif reiterated that last month’s seizure of an Iranian tanker by UK marines was an act of piracy and that the vessel was not en route to Syria.
Regarding the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Zarif made it clear that Tehran would exit the agreement if necessary, and urged European signatories to the JCPOA to intensify efforts to save the deal.
He went on to describe the US sanctions imposed on the top Iranian diplomat as a failure in diplomacy.
The statement follows the US Department of Treasury’s imposition of sanctions on Zarif, which Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi suggested was a reaction to US fear of the Iranian Foreign Minister’s expertise in holding negotiations.
“The peak of stupidity and inconsistency of America’s leaders is at a point where they don’t recognize Dr Zarif as being influential in Iran’s policy, but with the ultimate ignorance, they sanction him! The Americans have a strong fear of the logic of Dr Zarif and his negotiating skills”, Mousavi said.