The European powers involved in the 2015 nuclear deal with Iran should convince U.S. President Donald Trump not to exit the accord, as there is no "plan B" for the agreement, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Monday, echoing remarks made by French President Emmanuel Macron Sunday.
"It is either all or nothing," Zarif wrote on Twitter. "European leaders should encourage Trump not just to stay in the nuclear deal, but more importantly to begin implementing his part of the bargain in good faith."
The agreement in question, between Iran and six world powers led by the U.S., was intended as a measure to curb Iran's nuclear aspirations in exchange for lifting crippling economic sanctions. But Trump has been a vocal critic of the agreement, reached under his predecessor, former President Barack Obama, and has threatened to withdraw from it unless its "terrible flaws" are fixed.
Speaking Monday at the Council on Foreign Relations in New York, Zarif noted that Iran would start talks with the U.S. only if there was hope that they could be successful. He explained that with the current administration's tone, language and approach, it didn't seem possible.
"We need mutual respect," he noted. "We cannot go to that conversation when one side is calling for a lot of strange stuff about our country."
Under Iran's agreement with the U.S., France, Germany, Britain, Russia and China, Tehran agreed to curb its nuclear program to satisfy the powers that it could not be used to develop atomic bombs. In exchange, Iran received relief from sanctions, most of which were lifted in January 2016.
Trump, who believes that the agreement is too lax, has issued a May 12 deadline to amend the deal or the U.S. will reimpose the sanctions.
In a Fox News Sunday interview, Macron said he has no "plan B" for the deal and the United States should stay in the agreement as long as there is no better option.
"President Macron is correct in saying there is no plan B on JCPOA," Zarif tweeted. The JCPOA, or Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, is the formal name of the accord.
Iran has said it will stick to the accord as long as the other parties respect it, but will "shred" the deal if Washington pulls out.
Zarif also said Iran has been fighting extremists in Iraq and Syria, and it would like to end the war in the latter as soon as possible. He condemned the use of chemical weapons, and said the U.S. should be grateful that Iran prevented Damascus, Baghdad and Erbil from falling into the hands of ISIS.
Iran's foreign minister also made a rare appeal for dialogue, stating that neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can be the dominant power in the Middle East and what's needed most is for countries in the Persian Gulf region to talk to each other – not about each other.
"In an attempt to be the strongest in the region, to exclude one another from the region, we have managed to destroy the region," he said.
There is "a dire need for change" and "Iran is ready for it because we are big enough, old enough, mature enough to appreciate this reality," Zarif concluded. He expressed hope that Iran's neighbors, with help from other governments, can also appreciate the fact that "none of us can become the new hegemon" in the region.
He called for a new "regional dialogue forum" that would include five Gulf Cooperation Council countries along with Iran, Iraq and Yemen. And he urged the others to embark with Tehran on a transformation of the Middle East.
Zarif's comments followed the annual Arab League summit on April 15, where Saudi Arabia used its position as host to push for a unified stance by the 22-nation bloc against Iran, blaming Tehran for regional instability and accusing Iran of meddling.
Saudi Arabia and Iran are locked in proxy conflicts in Syria and Yemen, and they also back opposing groups in Lebanon, Bahrain and Iraq.
Zarif told an audience of several hundred at the Council on Foreign Relations that "our neighbors, particularly Saudi Arabia, want to create an impression that we are an existential threat against them."
He said that was "one of the most important messages" of Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman's recent two-week tour of the U.S.
The Trump administration signed off on the sale of more than $1.3 billion in artillery to Saudi Arabia during his visit. And, Zarif said, other neighbors are coming to the U.S. "to compete with one another in buying more weapons in order to attract support and help against the other neighbor who's also buying millions in the region."
But "security cannot be purchased," he said, saying it requires "understanding in the region."
"And something which is most important to realize, the era of hegemonic influence is long gone," Zarif said. "Neither Iran nor Saudi Arabia can be the hegemons of the region. That's a fact."
"We need to have a strong region," he said, "not to be the strongest in the region," he said.
Unless this transformation takes place, Zarif warned that no matter how many weapons the U.S. sells to countries in the region, "at the end of the day the cost for the United States will be much higher than the profits made by the weapons sold."
