Exclusive: Top Diplomats Condemn US Sanctions against FM Zarif

In the statement, a copy of which was sent to the Iran Front Page by one of the senior diplomats* on Wednesday, the signatories call on their fellows and colleagues in other countries to show the necessary reaction to such unilateral moves by the US.

They have also warned about the repercussions of a possible war, saying that the consequences would engulf the whole world.

The full text of the statement is as follows:

The United States has put on its list of unilateral and unfair sanctions the name of Dr. Mohammad Javad Zarif, an “efficient” and “responsible” minister in charge of the foreign affairs of the Islamic Republic of Iran. Although this move by the US government has not been the first, and will not be the last injudicious step taken by the politicians of this country against Iran, and the Iranian government and nation know well how to respond to these wicked moves, we, as professional diplomats, would like to draw the attention of the Iranian general public and elite, international public opinion and our colleagues in the global diplomatic community to a few points.

1- The imposition of sanctions on Zarif is a big mistake by the US government which shows the evil “B-Team” has held US diplomacy and global politics to ransom and, despite a tremendous rise in the costs of the US foreign policy, has failed to secure any achievements in the cases of its interest. So, the group has had no option by to resort to abnormal behaviour, which will have no outcome other than further discrediting the United States.

2- The imposition of sanctions on Zarif amounts to imposing sanctions on diplomacy and shows “B-Team,” in order to achieve its illegitimate objectives, considers no value for diplomacy, which is the most obvious norm accepted by the international community.

Both in Iran and around the world, Zarif is recognized as the powerful voice of the peace-loving and civilization-building Iranian nation, and the person responsible for the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign policy based on dialogue, understanding and multilateralism, and any effort to silence this voice is regarded as a declaration of war.

Although the Iranian nation has, throughout history, proven that it defends itself against the aggressor and hawkish enemy with unique unity, we ask all international organization and figures and our peer diplomats across the globe to show the necessary reaction to such unilateral moves by the US in a bid to stave off the wickedness of “B-Team” in imposing a war whose repercussions and consequences would engulf the whole world.

3- Sanctions are regarded as a tool of war which is dangerous to the whole world, and spreading the sphere of sanctions from economic terrorism to political terror, the latest manifestation of which is the sanctions imposed on the Islamic Republic of Iran’s foreign minister, shows the US diplomacy is wavering between the two options of “withdrawing from international agreements” and “unilateral sanctions” by ignoring regular diplomatic tools. Sanctions turning into the United States’ main diplomacy tool is a dangerous precedent in international politics, which can make different countries fall victim to the United States’ acquisitiveness and unilateralism. Accordingly, countering the United States’ unilateral sanctions as well as political and economic terrorism is an unavoidable necessity for the victory of diplomacy versus war as well as multilateralism versus unilateralism.

4- The policy of sanctions will not settle the US government’s alleged problems and challenges and will be counterproductive. The relentless spread of the domain of sanctions against the Iranian nation shows the evil “B-Team”, after the US withdrawal from the Iran nuclear deal, has brought the US diplomacy to a deadlock, and has to turn to abnormal behaviour in order to get rid of it. The Islamic Republic of Iran has reiterated time and again that it has no problem with the American nation. Zarif, who is a professional diplomat, has frequently mentioned the right path for the US government to make up for its mistakes as well as hostile and hegemonic behaviour against the Iranian nation. He has stressed the only way is to have interaction with and show respect for the great Iranian nation and its legitimate rights and interests.

 

* The undersigned include:

Ali Akbar Salehi (Vice-President and head of Atomic Energy Organization of Iran and a former foreign minister),

Ali Jannati (former minister of culture, and former ambassador to Kuwait),

Seyyed Ali-Akbar Mohtashamipour (former interior minister and former ambassador to Syria),

Ahmad Azizi (former deputy foreign minister, former chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, and former ambassador to Canada),

Seyyed Mohammad Sadr (member of Expediency Council and former deputy foreign minister),

Morteza Sarmadi (former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to the UK),

Seyyed Sadeq Kharrazi (former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to France),

Amir Saeid Iravani (deputy secretary of the Supreme National Security Council for international security affairs and former ambassador to Iraq),

Hossein Sheikholeslam (deputy head of The World Forum for Proximity of Islamic Schools of Thought for international affairs, former deputy foreign minister, and former ambassador to Iraq),

Alireza Moayyeri (former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to France),

Alaeddin Boroujerdi (former deputy foreign minister, former chairman of the Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission, and former ambassador to India),

Alireza Sheikh Attar (former deputy foreign minister and former ambassador to Germany),

Seyyed Abbas Araqchi (deputy foreign minister for political affairs),

Hossein Jaberi Ansari (deputy foreign minister for parliamentary and Iranian expatriates’ affairs), 

200 other incumbent and former diplomats and ambassadors have also signed the statement.