Zarif: Iran will never re-negotiate a topic already discussed

New York, Sept 21, IRNA – Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said the US is the party that violated the Iranian nuclear deal and stressed that Iran will never re-negotiate what it has already discussed. He made the remark in a session in the US Council of Foreign Affairs here on Monday where he commented on a number of issues. Asked about the execution of an Iranian culprit recently, he said that in Iran, the judiciary stands independent of the government and the government has no role in the courts' decisions. He further stressed that the execution of this person is not related to his presence in some protest rallies. Stressing that Iran respects international regulations, the Iranian Foreign Minister said Tehran respects the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) as an international agreement and will never assault any countries. He further stressed that "rather, it is the US people should worry about because America has become the source of concern for the whole international community by violating international norms." He said it is the US which has to prove it respects the nuclear agreement while Iran is still is a member of the deal. "We are still a member of the JCPOA. Iran is still even incapable of placing orders to buy flu vaccines because of the US bans. The orders which are to be placed using our own money not its (US) money." ***US isolated in world now, not Iran Zarif also commented on the treason against the Palestinian nation by the normalization deal signed by the UAE and Bahrain which he said did not result in Iran's isolation and said "when talking about isolation, you should look at what happened in the UNSC to see which country has been isolated. As everybody knows, the UAE and Bahrain had already had relations with the occupying regime of Israel. So let's not make jokes." ***US cyber-attacks Answering a question about the US claims about cyber-attacks to Iran, he said the US is knowingly carrying out cyber-attacks against Iran to damage Iran's super-sensitive nuclear equipment. This put lives of thousands of people into danger. There are lots of articles and documents proving this. ***Biden or Trump Zarif also answered a question about Iran's preference for the next US president, stressing that "it is of no significance for us, we don't mind who is in the White House." ***JCPOA is alive The Iranian Foreign Minister further stressed that Iran's nuclear deal is alive, the UNSC showed that the JCPOA is alive and the US is isolated in the world. If the US wants to forcefully return to the JCPOA, it should be told that method of bullying is long dead. He reminded all of the fate of the executed Iraqi president Saddam Hussein who attacked Iran and said: Just look at the destiny of Saddam Hussein and Iran to see who is dead and who is alive. ***US sanctions, nothing new for Iran He further referred to imposition of new sanctions on Iran by America and said they are not new for Iran. He said while we are talking here, Foreign Secretary Pompeo is trying to hold news conferences to attract away attentions. I don't think they are anything new for Iran and I don't think they will have any significant impact on Iran. The US has imposed all kinds of sanctions it could think of on Iran, they hoped the sanctions would make the Iranian nation to kneel down. But, that did not happen. This is the reason for them quitting the JCPOA, for starting maximum pressure policy, for taking resolutions to the UNSC and that is why they unveil new sanctions against Iran only one day after their failure in triggering snapback mechanism. This is an action targeting the whole world not Iran because they say anybody will refuses to act according them, or say this is a UNSC resolution, will be targeted by the US, he added. This is the kind of the international diplomacy which the US follows, Zarif noted. ***Issue of assassination of Brigadier Soleimani not over yet Foreign Minister Zarif further outlined Iran's policies regarding the issue of assassination of the the IRGC Brigadier General Qassem Soleimani and stressed that the US made an essential mistake by carrying out this assignation because the Brigadier General was a hero of anti-terrorism actions not just for Iranians but for many in other world countries. Some believe he was the number one enemy of Daesh. On the night of the martyrdom of the IRGC commander, he said, Pompeo posted a clip on twitter showing a number of people dancing joyfully by the news of the assassination but the day after hundreds of thousands of people in different cities in Iraq took to streets on mourning for him. Zarif said "Trump ordered assassination of a national and regional hero. This issue is not over. I do not to threaten anyone but definitely the case is now closed."