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28 April 2019 - 22:30
Zarif due in North Korea soon

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said that he is scheduled to visit North Korea soon.

Speaking in an exclusive interview with IRNA, Zarif said he is not aware of President Rouhani's program to hold meeting with North Korean Leader Kim Jong-un, adding that he will visit the country soon.

Elaborating on why he mentioned Team-B including US National Security Advisor John R. Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Bin Salman and Bin Zayed, he said that he wanted to make Americans informed of a reality which is based on documents not threat and accusation.

He added that there is a group which has so far been responsible for Mr. Trump's dangerous policies. 

Referring to Israeli Prime Minister's suggestion of war against Iran in US Congress 17 years ago, he said before elections in Israel he tweeted in Hebrew that he had offered Trump to make recent baseless decision labeling the Islamic Revolution Guard Corps as terrorist.

Apparently, in contrast to Trump pre-condition of not waging another war for employing John Bolton as the US National Security Advisor, Bolton earlier claimed in the meeting of terrorist Mujahedin-e Khalq Organization (MKO) that he would be in Iran next year, Zarif said. 

Even the US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo did not reject illegal acts for toppling the Islamic Revolution, he reiterated.

Some small countries in the region have been listed in Trump's statement as giving guarantee to US, he noted.

Zarif said that Trump has so far been committed to his election promises, and that some of his promises namely pulling out of Iran nuclear deal - the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) and recognizing Holy Quds as capital of the Israeli regime were false and some others like not attempting to involve US into a pointless adventurism was true. 

Elsewhere in his remarks, Zarif rejected talking to 'Fox News' for sending any special message, saying the media had earlier requested for an interview with President Rouhani and him on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly summit last September.

He noted that 'Fox News' is a media which is near to traditional people, middle class and those who have close ties with government.

He went on to say that the Islamic Republic of Iran relying on people could leave behind pressures, adding that US pressures boosted resilience of Iranian people and that Iranians are more integrated and united.

Zarif stressed the importance of sending a clear message to various ideological and political groups in the US to be aware of the consequences of the Israeli plots.

Commenting on the suggestion of prisoner swap between Iran and the US, he said US State Department response indicates US Administration's mentality which has merely focused on gestures not practical settlement of the issues.

In reaction to UK Foreign Secretary Jeremy Hunt's comments on prisoner swap, Zarif said he entered an issue which is none of his business.

For much of the interview, Zarif elaborated on his earlier remarks that Iran has PhD in circumventing sanctions, saying that US officials announced that they want to target Iranian people and pressure them to the extent that they stand up to their own government. 

Over the last 40 years, Iran has never hailed sanctions but has taken measures to confront it, Zarif said noting that JCPOA indicated the fact that it would be possible to lift sanctions through negotiations.

Highlighting the fact that US is not a credible negotiating partner, Zarif said the only way for Iran is to take practical steps to thwart the sanctions.

What can be accomplished by Iranian people and government is to decrease reliance on oil, increasing oil income, domestic products and non-oil exports, he said.

Elaborating on his upcoming regional visits, Zarif said in the framework of bilateral cooperation, he will have a trip to Russia 10 day later.

Neighbors are Iran's priority, he reiterated. 

Regarding withdrawal from Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of Nuclear Weapons (NPT) as an option for Iran, Zarif said the Islamic Republic of Iran has various choices, adding that Iranian officials are reviewing the way to take action in this regard.

Referring to Iran position on modifying NPT, Zarif said NPT has three stands which should be parallel.

He said that peaceful nuclear cooperation, non-proliferation and security guarantees should not be jeopardized. 

He said that the principle of making the Middle East free from nuclear weapons and the danger of violating the Non-Proliferation Treaty are not universal issues. 

He said that the Zionist regime is not a member of the NPT so that Iran thinks NPT is not universal, with Israeli weapons posing major threat to the regional and international security. 

In reaction to Europe delay in implementing commitments under the JCPOA and implementation of the Instrument in Support of Trade Exchanges (INSTEX), Zarif said that the Europeans have had one year but unfortunately they took no practical measures.

Iranian foreign minister is currently on a visit to New York to attend the United Nations General Assembly annual Conference on 'Remarking and Promoting International Day of Multilateralism and Diplomacy for Peace'.

According to the UN official website, 'the International Day was officially approved on 12 December, 2018 through resolution A/RES/73/127. 24 April of every year is designated as the day for the international observance.'

'As emphasized in the resolution, the International Day is a reaffirmation of the UN Charter and its principles of resolving disputes among countries through peaceful means. It acknowledges the use of multilateral decision-making and diplomacy in achieving peaceful resolutions to conflicts among nations,' it added.

News ID 190229

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