The U.S. push to change the 2015 Iran nuclear agreement is sending a "very dangerous message" that countries should never negotiate with Washington, Iran's foreign minister warned, as U.S. and North Korean leaders prepared to meet for denuclearization talks.
Speaking to reporters in New York on Saturday, Mohammad Javad Zarif also said that for French President Emmanuel Macron and German Chancellor Angela Merkel "to try to appease the president [U.S. President Donald Trump] would be an exercise in futility."
Trump has said that he will decide by May 12 whether to reimpose economic sanctions on Iran, which would be a severe blow to the 2015 pact between Iran and six major powers. He has pressured European allies to work with Washington to fix the deal.
Macron and Merkel are both due to meet with Trump in Washington this week.
"That's a very dangerous message to send to people of Iran but also to the people of the world – that you should never come to an agreement with the United States because at the end of the day, the operating principle of the United States is 'what's mine is mine, what's yours is negotiable,'" Zarif said.
U.S. Ambassador to the United Nations Nikki Haley said earlier this month that North Korean leader Kim Jong Un has "looked at the Iran deal, he's seen what he can get and he's seen how he can push through loopholes and we're not going to let that happen again."
Under the 2015 nuclear deal, Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from global economic sanctions. Trump's predecessor, Barack Obama, struck the pact to try to keep Iran from building a nuclear weapon, but Trump believes it has "disastrous flaws."
Zarif said that if the U.S. decides to withdraw from the deal, Iran is considering many options, including complaining through a dispute mechanism set up by the agreement or simply leaving the deal and restarting its nuclear activities.
"We will make a decision based on our national security interests when the times comes. But whatever that decision will be, it won't be very pleasant for the United States," he said.
When asked if Iran could stay in the deal with the remaining parties, Zarif said: "I believe that's highly unlikely because it is important for Iran to receive the benefits of the agreement and there was no way Iran would do a one-sided implementation of the agreement."
Iran has always said its nuclear program was only for peaceful purposes and Zarif said if it resumed its nuclear activities it would not be intended "to get a bomb."
"America never should have feared Iran producing a nuclear bomb, but we will pursue vigorously our nuclear enrichment. If they want to fear anything it's up to them," Zarif said.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Saturday that Iran's atomic agency was ready with "expected and unexpected" responses if the U.S. pulls out of the nuclear deal.
"Our atomic energy organization is fully prepared ... for actions that they expect and actions they do not expect," Rouhani said.
He also said that when the Iranian central bank this month slapped controls on markets, his government was intending to prevent instability in the foreign exchange market after a possible U.S. exit from the nuclear accord.
"This was a preventative blow against any American decision on May 12. They fully hoped to ... cause chaos in the [foreign exchange] market. I promise the people that the plot of the enemy has been thwarted, and whether or not the nuclear deal remains in effect, we will have no problem," Rouhani said.
On April 9, Iran moved to formally unify the country's official and open market exchange rates and banned money changing outside of banks, after its currency, the rial, plunged to an all-time low on concerns over a resumption of crippling sanctions.
Zarif also accused the U.S. government of arrogance and belligerence and said Washington needed "a change in attitude" before any meaningful negotiations could begin over several U.S. citizens being held prisoner in Iran.
"It is important ... for the [Trump] administration to show the ability to engage in a respectful dialogue," Zarif said. "The United States needs to learn how to treat other sovereign nations, particularly sovereign nations who do not depend on the United States for continued existence."
At least five Iranians, all dual American citizens or green card holders, have been sentenced to prison in Iran on espionage-related charges, as has Chinese-American Princeton University graduate student Xiyue Wang.
Zarif said his government is open to talks regarding a prisoner release, particularly on health or humanitarian grounds. One of the prisoners, Baquer Namazi, is 81 and in poor health. But he said the current American attitude makes such negotiations impossible.
"You do not engage in negotiations by showing disrespect for a country, for its people, for its government," he said. "Then you do not leave much room for a genuine dialogue."
On Friday, Deputy Commander of Iran's Revolutionary Guards Brig. Gen. Hossein Salami warned that Israel would be destroyed in any type of war between the two countries.
He said every Israeli would be affected by such a war because Israel is "in the mouth of the dragon. It doesn't matter where you [Israelis] are in the occupied lands you will find yourselves under fire," he said.
"Israel has no strategic depth and it is under threat from the north and south. They will have nowhere to flee except for the sea. [Israel] shouldn't rely on its air force bases because they are within our missile range. The United States and Britain won't help it – it won't exist anymore."
Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman addressed the Iranian threats during a tour of the Gaza border area on Friday.
"We've been hearing these threats for many years now; they don't bother us. I advise all those on the northern border to really think about what they are doing. It's really not worth it for them to try testing the IDF or Israel and we are prepared for any scenario," Lieberman said.
"We're prepared for a multi-arena scenario and I can't recall ever seeing such a high level of readiness and willingness in the army or among the people."
