US Sanctions against FM Zarif Show B-Team’s Fear of Diplomatic Logic

“Sanctioning a negotiator amounts to sanctioning negotiations indeed,” Rabiyee said on Wednesday, in a post on his Instagram account.

He added that the White House move against Zarif proved that the US’ call for talks is not genuine and is just a “show”.

He underlined that the call for the move against the Iranian diplomatic chief highlighted that the B-team is afraid of diplomatic logic of Zarif.

The B-Team is a reference to a group of anti-Iran warmongers comprised of US National Security Adviser John Bolton, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, Saudi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman (MbS) and Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Mohammad bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MbZ).

Rabiyee underscored that levying sanctions against Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei is an insult to the Iranian nation and will, adversely to the White House’s intention, drive Iranians further toward firmer solidarity and unity.

“Sanctioning the one who has issued a Fatwa against nuclear weapons is an unjustifiable move in contradiction with wisdom,” he said, adding, “Apparently, it was not just an American drone that was shot down but the whole verbal order of the White House seems to have fallen into disarray.”

US Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Monday that the US will blacklist Zarif and block “billions” more in Iranian assets as part of expanded sanctions.

Mnuchin told reporters Zarif would be added to an economic sanctions list “later this week,” adding that eight top military commanders from Iran’s Revolutionary Guards have now also been blacklisted.

The Treasury Department’s announcement came as President Donald Trump authorized sanctions on Ayatollah Khamenei.

Tehran has several times stressed that it would never return to the negotiating table with the US under Washington’s pressures, saying that the White House sanctions had been ineffective and would not produce desired results.

“Assuredly Iran will neither negotiate nor surrender under pressures,” Mousavi said, addressing his weekly conference in Tehran on Monday.

“There has been left no other kind of sanctions for the US to impose against Iran,” the diplomat said, underlining that the US unilateral embargos against Tehran have had no positive outcome for Washington, casting serious doubt on the efficacy of the sanctions.

“They are trying to affect the public opinion in and outside the US, and we consider these sanctions as hostile and in line with economic terrorism,” the foreign ministry spokesman underlined.

“On one hand, they talk about their unconditional or conditional readiness for direct or mediated talks with Iran, and on the other hand pose their maximum pressure against the people of Iran,” Mousavi underscored, adding, “They themselves well know that if the sanctions and pressures were effective, they would have earned the results earlier.”

In relevant remarks earlier this month, Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei strongly rejected talks with the United States, and told the visiting Japanese premier that he doesn’t see Donald Trump as a party deserving to receive a message from Iran.

“I do not consider Trump, as a person, deserving to exchange messages with. We will not negotiate with the United States,” Ayatollah Khamenei stressed in the meeting in Tehran on June 13.

During the meeting, Japanese Prime Minister Abe Shinzo told Ayatollah Khamenei that “I would like to give you a message from the President of the United States”.

Ayatollah Khamenei responded by pointing to the US ingenuity and untrustworthiness, and argued, “We do not doubt your sincerity and goodwill. However, regarding what you mentioned about the President of the US, I do not consider Trump as a person worth exchanging any message with and I have no answer for him, nor will I respond to him in the future.”

“What I am going to say is part of our talks with the Japanese Prime Minister. Because we consider Japan a friend of ours. Although, there are some complaints,” he added.

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to Shinzo’s remarks that the US intends to prevent Iran’s production of nuclear weapons, and said, “We are opposed to the nuclear weapons and my religious Fatwa bans production of nuclear weapons but you should know that if we intended to produce nuclear weapons, the US could do nothing and its non-permission was not an obstacle.”

He also described stockpiling of nuclear weapons as an unwise measure, and said, “The US is not qualified at all to say which country should have or have not nuclear weapons because the US has several thousand nuclear warheads in its arsenals.”

Referring to the Japanese prime minister that Trump told him that “the United States is not after regime change in Iran”, the Supreme Leader insisted, “Our problem with the United States is not about regime change. Because even if they intend to pursue that, they won’t be able to achieve it; just as previous US presidents tried to destroy the Islamic Republic of Iran during the past 40 years, and failed. What Trump says, that he is not after regime change, is a lie. For, if he could do so, he would. However, he is not capable of doing it.”

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the Japanese prime minister’s remarks regarding the United States’ request to negotiate with Iran about the nuclear issue, and said, “The Islamic Republic of Iran negotiated for 5 to 6 years with the United States and the Europeans — the P 5+1 — which led to an agreement. But the United States disregarded and breached this definite agreement. So, what common sense would once again allow negotiations with a state that has thrown away everything that was agreed upon?”

He pointed to the forty years of hostility that the US has showed to the Iranian nation and its continued hostility, and said, “We believe that our problems will not be solved by negotiating with the US, and no free nation would ever accept negotiations under pressure.”

Ayatollah Khamenei then responded to remarks by the Japanese Prime Minister on how the Americans have always wanted to impose their own beliefs and views on other nations, and stated, “It is good that you acknowledge this fact, and you should also know that the Americans will observe no limits in imposing their views.”

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution pointed to the process of negotiations with the US that led to the formation of the 2015 nuclear deal, and said, “After the nuclear agreement, the first person to immediately breach the JCPOA was Mr. Obama himself; the same person who had asked for direct talks with Iran and had also sent a mediator.”

“This is our experience, and rest assured Mr. Abe that we will not repeat it,” he underlined.

Ayatollah Khamenei referred to the remarks made by the Japanese prime minister quoting Trump as saying that “negotiating with the US will help Iran progress”, and said, “By God’s grace, we will progress without negotiating with the US and despite the sanctions.”

The Leader of the Revolution welcomed the Japanese prime minister’s suggestion of expanding relations between Japan and Iran, and reminded, “Japan is an important country in Asia, and if they are willing to expand relations with Iran, they should prove their sincere willingness — just as some important countries have shown their interest.”

On Tuesday, a senior member of the Iranian Parliament’s National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyed Hossein Naqavi Hosseini said that the US President Donald Trump’s move to sanction Tehran’s top officials shows that the White House is now in a state of agony and desolation.

He underlined that the White house bans on the Leader, some commanders of the Islamic Revolution Guards Cops (IRGC), and Foreign Minister Zarif was an indication that the US is stuck in a predicament in dealing with Iran.

“The new US sanctions against officials and top figures of our country, particularly military and the IRGC personalities show how desperate and disgraced are the US and Trump,” he underlined.

“These sanctions show that the resistance exercised by the Islamic Republic of Iran has made the US miserable,” the lawmaker said.

“They send a mediator for talks with no pre-conditions, from one hand and dispatch a spy drone to our country and impose new sanctions on the other. These all show Trump’s consecutive defeats in countering Iran which have caused his confusion and despair.”

He concluded that the recent developments in Iran-US interactions show that the Iranian Leader was right to hold that the US did not deserve negotiations and is untrustworthy. “Negotiation is not something to be on the agenda,” he underscored.

Earlier on the day, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday that the new sanctions of the White House against Foreign Minister Zarif exposed that Donald Trump’s administration was from the very beginning lying about its willingness for holding negotiations with Tehran.

“It is clear that you are lying,” President Rouhani said to US officials, during a meeting with the health ministry officials in Tehran.

“You’d better wait to let the world remain doubtful whether you were honest or dishonest [in your call for unconditional talks with Iran],” the Iranian head of government said, referring to Trump and Pompeo’s call for talks with Iran made respectively in Japan and Switzerland.

Rouhani underlined that now there is no doubt left that the Trump administration is lying about its readiness for direct negotiations with Iran.

He referred to long direct talks between Zarif and John Kerry, the then US Secretary of State, in 2015 to make the point that direct talks between Iran and the US was possible if Washington respected its opposing side.

Rouhani reiterated that the US lack of commitments to the nuclear agreement of 2015, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Palm of Action, at first and then its violation of the terms of the deal prevented the chance for further negotiations between the two countries.

Saying that the long talks between Zarif and Kerry broke the records as they negotiated for 17 days in the holy month of Ramadan, Rouhani added that it was unprecedented in the history of the two countries after the victory of the Islamic Revolution that the top diplomats of the two countries talk for that length of time.

The Iranian head of government concluded that the case of Zarif-Kerry talks proved that Iran was ready for negotiations, and even the talks could yield results as in the case of the nuclear deal, reiterating that it was the US who stopped the course of negotiations between the two countries.

He then reminded the White House that it had formerly stated its opposition to the government of Iran versus the people of Iran, asking Trump, “How do you now call the Iranian nation a terrorist nation?”