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US focusing on sanctions as a goal, not a tool, Zarif says

Nuclear Program Materials 18 September 2014 12:39 (UTC +04:00)
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said imposing sanctions on countries is now a goal for the US not a tool.
US focusing on sanctions as a goal, not a tool, Zarif says

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said imposing sanctions on countries is now a goal for the US not a tool.

He made the remarks while addressing the US Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) on Sept. 18, Iran's official IRNA news agency reported.

Zarif believed settling Iran's nuclear issue would be so easy if people focused on gaining assurances about the peaceful nature of Tehran's nuclear program.

He said Iran could well do that by carrying out some transparency attempts such as making changes in the Arak heavy water reactor.

However, he stressed that "the problem was that the US was just over-obsessed with the issue of sanctions, with the Congress insisting on their continuation."

Pointing out that Iran now owned around 20,000 centrifuges, Zarif said "the number was thanks to the US imposed sanctions."

Zarif stressed that sanctions were worthy enough for the US to destroy the outlook of settling nuclear issue and cooperation with Iran.

Iran's enrichment program is absolutely for peaceful purposes with transparent objectives, he added, noting that the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) had repeatedly acknowledged that Iran has been acting according to the Geneva agreements.

In answer to a question about the Parchin site, Zarif said that the IAEA has already visited the place twice and taken 42 environmental samples though Iran informed the watchdog organization that the site was a military installation and out of limits of inspection.

Zarif also underlined that Iran, as a responsible powerful country, has always had a realistic view towards all issues.

He went on to comment on a recent conference in Paris to confront the IS (Islamic State) group.

He argued "the majority of Paris conference participants had ironically helped formation and expansion of the terrorist group, virtually working to create a Frankenstein-like creature that would finally turn against its own creators."

He termed the Paris meeting as a "coalition for repentance".

Noting that Tehran was the first country to help Baghdad confront the IS issue upon the consent of the Iraqi officials, Zarif said Iran never hesitated to help its friends fight such threats.

He underlined the necessity of confronting the threat because it was not a menace against one particular country or region but rather the whole globe given the presence of thousands of foreigners in Iraq and Syria.

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