Zarif: US Must Cease «Hypocritical Absurdities» About Iran Missiles

Local Editor

Iran has lashed out at the US for its "hypocritical" remarks about Tehran, saying the one to blame for regional miseries is Washington and those who buy its lethal weapons.

“US & allies should cease their hypocritical absurdities abt Iran's missiles & regional ‘behavior’,” Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a Thursday tweet.

“Facts speak for themselves. It's they who sell $100s of billions in arms to butcher Yemenis & it's they & their clients—NOT Iran—who're responsible for miseries from Saddam to ISIS [Daesh],” the Iranian foreign minister said.

Zarif’s comments came after US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed Wednesday that Iran's ballistic missile activity has been growing since the 2015 nuclear deal.

Addressing the UN Security Council, he also urged stronger international restrictions to prevent the Islamic Republic’s regional activities.

“Our goodwill gestures have been futile correctives to the Iranian regime’s reckless missile activity and all other destructive behaviors,” he further said.

Following his Thursday tweet, Iran's top diplomat tweeted two videos of his speeches at the Mediterranean Dialogues, which were held in Rome last month.

In the videos, Zarif harshly criticizes the US for exporting billions of dollars worth of “beautiful weapons” to Saudi Arabia, which uses them to slaughter innocent people of Yemen.

He also slams the US’ remarks regarding Iran’s missile program and regional behavior, saying Washington and its support for regional dictators in the past decades is to blame for the current situation.

On Saturday, Zarif strongly criticized the US policy of pouring weapons into the Middle East far beyond its real defense needs, warning that it has turned the region into a "powder keg".

“The Americans have turned the region into a powder keg. The amount of weaponry, which is sold on the part of the US, is unbelievable and quite a lot in excess of what the region needs,” he said.

Zarif cited a recent report noting that weapons supplied by the US and Britain had "fallen into" the hands of splinter groups in Yemen, “some with links to al-Qaeda and Daesh [Arabic acronym for ‘ISIS’ / ‘ISIL’],” asserting that the oversupply of the arms had not contributed to peace and security in the region in any manner.

Washington, Zarif said, is trying to portray the realities of the region “upside down,” resorting to “meaningless” accusations, and undermining Tehran’s relations with Europe.

Source: Press TV, Edited by website team