Iran won’t allow Saudi Arabia undercut Iranian influence in region: Zarif

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says the Islamic Republic will never allow Saudi Arabia to undercut Iran in the region.

The Iranian foreign minister made the remark in a joint presser with his German counterpart Frank-Walter Steinmeier in the Iranian capital, Tehran.

Responding to a question on Syria, Zarif said the Islamic Republic is ready to cooperate with all concerned governments to resolve the Syrian crisis. He said Iran believes that the measures taken by the Russian government in Syria are in line with fighting the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

He said military operations against Daesh are only one dimension of the fight against the terrorist group, adding that financial support for Daesh should also be stopped, among other measures.

In response to another question about recent remarks by US officials about Iranian missile tests, Zarif said the US has a history of adopting wrong stances, emphasizing that Iranian missile tests have nothing to do with United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 (2015) as the Iranian missiles have not been designed to carry nuclear warheads.

He reiterated that Iran has never had and will never have a nuclear weapons program.

Steinmeier, for his part, said the two sides to the recent agreement between Iran and the P5+1 should build trust in order to reduce potential tensions.

The top German diplomat arrived in Tehran on Saturday on a two-day visit, a first such visit by a German foreign minister in 12 years.