Iran has previously said it is ideologically opposed to acquiring nuclear weapons and seeks nuclear power only for civilian purposes. But in the current unpredictable climate it is possible Donald Trump<\/a> could pick up Javad Zarif\u2019s remarks as a signal to talk.<\/span><\/p>\n The White House is pursuing a twin-track strategy of seeking talks while trying to throttle the Iranian economy through sanctions that block trade with Europe and oil sales, and freeze the assets of political and diplomatic leaders.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran has said it will breach the uranium enrichment limits set out in the 2015 nuclear deal on Thursday, but that does not imply the country is on the path to building a nuclear weapon.<\/span><\/p>\n Zarif pointed to the past use of nuclear weapons by the US and to recent comments by Trump that he had called off a military strike on Iran because it would have killed 150 people.<\/span><\/p>\n Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif. Click to enlarge<\/p><\/div>\n \u201cYou were really worried about 150 people? How many people have you killed with a nuclear weapon? How many generations have you wiped out with these weapons?\u201d Zarif said on Tuesday.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cIt is us who, because of our religious views, will never pursue a nuclear weapon.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The US president again threatened Iran with \u201cobliteration\u201d in a Twitter tirade in which he also accused the country\u2019s leaders of killing 2,000 Americans.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe Iranian leadership doesn\u2019t understand the words \u2018nice\u2019 or \u2018compassion\u2019, they never have. Sadly, the thing they do understand is strength and power, and the USA is by far the most powerful military force in the world, with $1.5tn invested over the last two years alone,\u201d he wrote.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe US has not forgotten Iran\u2019s use of IEDs & EFPs (bombs), which killed 2,000 Americans, and wounded many more \u2026 Any attack by Iran on anything American will be met with great and overwhelming force. In some areas, overwhelming will mean obliteration.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The angry tweets came after Iran said the US\u2019s decision to impose sanctions<\/a> on its supreme leader and other top officials was \u201cidiotic\u201d and had permanently closed the path to diplomacy between Tehran and Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump imposed fresh sanctions on Monday against the supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, and military chiefs, in an unprecedented step designed to increase pressure on Iran after Tehran\u2019s downing of an unmanned American drone. Khamenei is Iran\u2019s utmost authority, who has the last say on all state matters.<\/span><\/p>\n Washington said it would also impose sanctions this week on Zarif, who negotiated the 2015 nuclear deal with the US<\/a><\/strong><\/span> and other major powers and has spearheaded Iranian diplomacy since.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s president, Hassan Rouhani, described the White House as \u201cafflicted by a mental disability\u201d and said the sanctions against Khamenei were \u201coutrageous and idiotic\u201d, especially as the 80-year-old cleric has no overseas assets and no plans to ever travel to the US.<\/span><\/p>\n Tehran said the US had spent weeks demanding that Iran match America\u2019s diplomacy with its own diplomacy, rather than military responses, but was now trying to immobilise its chief diplomat.<\/span><\/p>\n \u201cImposing useless sanctions on Iran\u2019s supreme leader and the commander of Iran\u2019s diplomacy is the permanent closure of the path of diplomacy,\u201d the foreign ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in a tweet<\/strong><\/span><\/a> on Tuesday. \u201cTrump\u2019s desperate administration is destroying the established international mechanisms for maintaining world peace and security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Speaking in Israel, Trump\u2019s national security adviser, John Bolton, insisted the president remained open to real negotiations and \u201call that Iran needs to do is walk through that open door\u201d.<\/span><\/p>\n Iran\u2019s decision to breach the nuclear deal is a response to US sanctions and Europe\u2019s failure to provide economic protection. It is due to be followed by more serious breaches on 7 July.<\/span><\/p>\n This places the EU in a dilemma since France, Germany and the UK are desperate to keep the deal alive but cannot find a route to de-escalate the crisis between Tehran and Washington.<\/span><\/p>\n The three European countries issued a statement on the margins of the UN security council on Monday urging Iran to stay inside the deal, saying: \u201cIt is in everyone\u2019s interest to show restraint and avoid any actions that would undermine this vital pillar of the non-proliferation regime and of our collective security.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n They also insisted they were working hard to implement their commitments to Iran \u2013 a reference to setting up financial mechanisms to help Tehran trade with Europe without the threat of US sanctions \u2013 and condemned recent attacks on oil tankers in the Gulf of Oman.<\/span><\/p>\n The UK foreign secretary, Jeremy Hunt, warned Iran not to breach the uranium enrichment limits, saying in the Commons: \u201cIt is absolutely essential they stick to that deal in its entirety for it to preserve and for us to have a nuclear-free Middle East.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He also ruled out British involvement in military action. \u201cThe US is our closest ally. We talk to them the whole time but I cannot envisage any situation where they request, or we agree to, any moves to go to war.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n He again called for de-escalation, saying: \u201cNeither side wants war, but it is very important for there to be ladders for people to climb down so discussions can take place.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n Trump is due to raise the issue of tightening maritime security in the Gulf at a G20 summit starting on Friday in Japan. He wants Asian countries including Korea and Japan to contribute more to defence of shipping in the Gulf especially the strait of Hormuz.<\/span><\/p>\n Analysts said the impact of the fresh US sanctions on an already heavily sanctioned country would be limited. \u201cThe newly announced Iran<\/a> sanctions are symbolic,\u201d said Jarrett Blanc, a former senior state department official now at the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace.<\/span><\/p>\n Trump said he was willing to pursue dialogue with Tehran without preconditions, but the sanctions appeared to make such talks even less likely.<\/span><\/p>\n The Iranian ambassador to the UN, Majid Takht-Ravanchi, said: \u201cNo one in clear mind can have a dialogue with somebody who is threatening you with sanctions; as long as that is still there, there is no way we can have a dialogue.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n The ratcheting up of tensions between the two countries comes in the wake of the Gulf of Oman tanker attacks<\/a>, when two vessels were damaged by explosions. The Trump administration blamed Iran for the attacks, but Tehran denied responsibility.<\/span><\/p>\n Then last week a US drone was shot down by Iran, further escalating the crisis. The US president responded by ordering an attack on Iran<\/strong><\/span><\/a>, before pulling back and opting for stronger sanctions instead.<\/span><\/p>\n Tensions with Iran have been mounting since Trump withdrew the US<\/a><\/strong><\/span> from the 2015 nuclear deal last year and began applying pressure on Tehran<\/strong><\/span><\/a> through economic sanctions.<\/span><\/p>\n <\/p>\n![\"\"](\"https:\/\/www.thetruthseeker.co.uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2018\/05\/Mohammad-Javid-Zarif-300x150.jpg\")
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