Zarif: Iran Showing ‘Maximum Restraint’ Towards US

By Staff, Agencies

In a visit to Japan, Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Tehran is showing “maximum restraint” in the face of the United States’ unilateral exit from the 2015 nuclear deal and the “unacceptable” re-imposition of sanctions against the Iranian nation.

Speaking at the start of a meeting with his Japanese counterpart, Taro Kono, in Tokyo on Thursday, Zarif stressed that the Islamic Republic is exercising “maximum restraint in spite of the fact the United States withdrew from [the] JCPOA last May,” referring to the nuclear accord by the acronym of its official name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.

Zarif also noted that Iran is still committed to its obligations under the JCPOA and that continued assessments proved this fact.

“We believe that escalation by the United States is unacceptable and uncalled for,” Zarif added.

Under the Trump administration, the US has taken an increasingly hostile approach toward Iran.

Washington pulled out of the JCPOA on May 8, 2018, and re-imposed the anti-Iran sanctions it had lifted under the nuclear deal as part of a campaign of “maximum pressure” against the Islamic Republic.

Recently, it moved to force Iran’s oil exports to “zero” and sent military reinforcements, including a strike group, B-52 bombers and Patriot missiles, to the Middle East in a bid to step up pressure on Tehran.