Ban on Zarif Shows Confusion in US Foreign Policy: Spokesman

Seyyed Abbas Mousavi made the comment in a memo on the United States’ sanctions on Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif. The full text of the piece follows.

The imposition of injudicious and unwise sanctions on Zarif not only amounts to an unfair attack by the US on a prominent and internationally recognized diplomat, but is also a shot fired at the heart of diplomacy. The move is a sign of confusion and desperation in the United States’ foreign policy arena and shows the pillars of power in the White House are on shaky ground.

Those who claim to be advocates of dialogue and those who, from dawn to dusk, and even in their nighttime tweets, speak of unconditional talks with Iran should be reminded that they have lost eligibility for negotiations by violating the most important and obvious conditions for talks, i.e., respecting the other party and removing rivals.

The bitter sarcasm and major paradox of this saga is that a country which claims to be the leader of some sort of western civilization and which regards itself as the greatest source of inspiration and promoter of values such as democracy, liberalism and human rights does not care about any other way and mechanism than use of force, threat and war.

The United States is the greatest imposer of sanctions in history. From the Americans’ standpoint, sanctions are a complement and prelude to war.

This country has paid special attention to “sanctions” as a tool, especially since World War II, and slapped bans, under different pretexts, on dozens of countries, hundreds of companies and organizations, and thousands of people.

So, sanctions gradually turned into the most important tool to exert pressure and force against independent countries that opposed the US. Today, sanctions are the most important tool in the United States’ toolbox of foreign policy. In the twentieth century, this toolbox lacks main tools of foreign policy, i.e., diplomacy, dialogue, interaction and understanding, more than ever before.

However, the current US administration is ahead of its rivals when it comes to resorting to sanctions, and is seen as the government which uses the tool of sanctions more frequently than any other government in the world. By looking at the dark record of the current US administration, one realizes the reality that basically American statesmen are strangers to political rationality, diplomacy and understanding, and that the foreign policy of this country boils down to two words: threats and sanctions.

Looking at the main key works in the language of American officials, especially Secretary of State Mike Pompeo, National Security Advisor John Bolton and President Donald Trump will suffice to realize the true extent of these individuals’ grudge, malice and animosity toward human values such as dialogue, understanding, mutual respect, non-interference and peaceful coexistence.