In reference to ongoing nuclear negotiations, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said his country has upheld its part of reaching an agreement, and now it is the responsibility of the U.S. and its allies to do the same.
“We agreed on parameters to remove any doubt about the exclusively peaceful nature of Iran’s nuclear program,” Zarif wrote in a New York Times op-ed published Monday. “It is time for the United States and its Western allies to make the choice between cooperation and confrontation, between negotiations and grandstanding, and between agreement and coercion.”
Earlier this month, Iran reached a framework nuclear deal with the P5+1 countries — United States, Russia, China, France, Britain and Germany. Now, negotiators are working toward a comprehensive agreement to limit Iran’s nuclear program by a June 30 deadline. Iran is pushing for sanctions relief — and while both sides agree upon removing sanctions, they differ on the parameters and timing of doing so.
Zarif also called the Iranian nuclear issue a “manufactured crisis,” a result of unrest in the Persian Gulf region — something that can be fixed “with courageous leadership and the audacity to make the right decisions.”
However, the foreign minster also accused the U.S. and its allies of enabling the growth of groups such as al Qaeda and the Islamic State in both Yemen and Syria. Shifting focus away from the issues surrounding Iran’s nuclear program, Zarif called for a dialogue of countries holding a stake in the region — especially the United Nations — to help solve its ongoing turmoil.
“A regional dialogue could help promote understanding and interaction at the levels of government, the private sector and civil society, and lead to agreement on a broad spectrum of issues, including confidence- and security-building measures; combating terrorism, extremism and sectarianism; ensuring freedom of navigation and the free flow of oil and other resources; and protection of the environment. A regional dialogue could eventually include more formal nonaggression and security cooperation arrangements,” Zarif wrote.
