The Iranian foreign minister says the Israeli regime is not worried about Iran's nuclear energy program, suggesting that they resorted to lies in an attempt to prevent Iran's emergence as an independent world power, Press TV reported.
"The Zionist regime is not concerned about Iran's nuclear program; we would be happy if they were [really] worried that a nuclear Iran would be a threat; but one had to look into why they became concerned and why they resorted to threats and spreading falsehood to prevent Iran from proving that it does not pursue nuclear weapons," Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday.
Speaking in an event honoring "industrial and economic heroes," the Iranian foreign minister further praised Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei for adopting a firm stance against all nuclear weaponry by issuing a religious edict forbidding it.
No religious leader in the world raised the issue of the faith-based prohibition of nuclear arms before the Leader of the Islamic Revolution, Zarif said.
The top Iranian diplomat further stated that the "ill-wishers of Iran" have recognized the power of this revolution and the Iranian people and attempted to prevent the rise of this power in the international arena by spreading lies about this nation.
Zarif, however, underlined that such national might does not mean that we should not make efforts to enhance our military might.
"What it mean is," he explained, "that before anything else, we should believe in the culture of resistance, the culture of martyrdom... and the culture of self-confidence."
Zarif went on to refer to the numerous industrial and scientific achievements of Iran over the years, pointing to the potentialities of the country to assert itself and bring about change in the international scene.
On November 24, Iran and the five permanent members of the United Nations Security Council - Russia, China, France, Britain and the US - plus Germany sealed an interim deal in the Swiss city of Geneva to lay the groundwork for the full resolution of the dispute over the Islamic Republic's nuclear energy program.
In exchange for Iran agreeing to limit certain aspects of its nuclear activities, the six countries agreed to provide Iran with some sanctions relief.