Discussing various regional and international issues in an interview with NBC News on Monday, Zarif said the US has only itself to blame for the failure of the nuclear deal, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), that was signed in 2015 between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council, plus Germany to resolve a decade-long dispute.
The former foreign minister also reiterated Iran’s official stance that it reserves the right to retaliate against Israel’s assassination of Ismail Haniyeh, the political chief of the Palestinian resistance movement Hamas, on July 31 in Tehran.
As for Iran’s procrastination, he explained that Iran was asked by the international community to exercise restraint so it would not dent ceasefire efforts on Gaza, but deplored the Israeli regime and its supporters as the truce has not been established yet.
Zarif, who is accompanying Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on his trip to New York to attend the 79th session of the UN General Assembly, said Iran is ready to cooperate with other countries to stop Israel’s year-long military campaign in Gaza.
“We want to move in a more peaceful, more stable world for our citizens and for the citizens of the world. We don’t seek war, but we will defend ourselves,” the Iranian vice president said.
