Zarif Mocks Pompeo’s Misleading Claim amid Push to Extend Arms Embargo

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif responded in a sarcastic message to the recent claim of his US counterpart Mike Pompeo about the end of the UN arms embargo on Iran.

Pompeo posted a map on Twitter claiming that Europe and Asia could be in Iran’s crosshairs if it bought "highly lethal" fighters like Russia’s SU-30 and China’s J-10 once the arms ban expired on 18 October.

In turn, Zarif cited the map's legend that said that the given ranges – going as far as Germany and India – were maximum distances covered during a "one-way flight only". A jet's maximum range is the distance it can fly for the amount of fuel onboard.

"Pompeo is so desperate to mislead the world that he claims come October, Iran will purchase fighter aircraft and then send them off to the limits of their ONE-WAY ranges," Zarif wrote on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

"Perhaps he could also say how they would fly back to Iran having exhausted their fuel," he added.

In his tweet, Zarif displayed an image of the maximum flight range of J-10 and SU-30SM to show Pompeo's claim is far from reality.

Pompeo has been putting all of his efforts for the past two years to act against Iranian people.

As the expiry date of the UN arms embargo on Iran is coming up, the US officials have stepped up their efforts to avoid it.