Obama must deal respectfully with Iran

Iran Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has expressed disappointment with the US president’s “insulting” language towards the Iranian nation, urging Barack Obama to deal with the Islamic Republic based on mutual respect.

“Well, I believe political leaders have to exercise leadership. I was rather disappointed that President Obama used language that was insulting to the Iranian people,” Zarif said in an interview with Fareed Zakaria on CNN’s GPS program which was aired on Sunday.

“I believe President Obama should, in fact, stick to his declared intention to deal with Iran on the basis of mutual respect. That’s what he said in his letter to the President [of Iran Hassan Rouhani]. That’s what he said in his address to the General Assembly,” he added.

The Iranian minister made the comments in response to a question about Obama’s statements in a meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Washington.

During the meeting with the Israeli premier on September 30, the US president once again repeated his country’s warmongering rhetoric against Tehran over its nuclear energy program, saying Washington will take no options off the table with regard to Iran.

“We take no options off the table, including military option,” Obama said.

The Iranian minister rejected the US contradictory approaches, saying, “You do not deal with another state with mutual respect by threatening them, by trying to intimidate them, particularly when you know that that is not useful, that is not of any utility.”

“As I said, the Iranian people react very, very negatively to such language of threat and intimidation,” Zarif pointed out.

In an interview with the Iranian television broadcast late Saturday, Zarif said Tehran is ready to give Washington the opportunity to prove its goodwill toward the Iranian nation.

Washington must understand that pressure and sanctions are not effective when it comes to the Iranian people, he added.