Words matter. These are the best Mohammad Javad Zarif Quotes, and they’re great for sharing with your friends.
I think the United States, whether you have a Democratic president or whether you have a Republican president, is bound by international law, whether some senators like it or not.
The Iranian people are known for adhering to their undertakings. We have been tested by history. We’re an old civilization. We’ve been tested by history. We haven’t aggressed upon any country for 250 years. This is a history that I’m proud of.
I have disagreements with some and more agreements with others. But that doesn’t mean I cannot listen to those I disagree with.
I have lost every respect for U.S. justice. The judgment by the Supreme Court and the other, even more absurd judgment by a New York circuit court deciding that Iran should pay damages for 9/11 are the height of absurdity.
International regimes, international treaties, international norms are observed not because of the goodness of anybody but because they bring benefits. If they don’t, then the longevity of those agreements come into jeopardy.
If anything caused ISIS, it was the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq.
I lived for 30 years in the U.S., but always kept my Islamic and Iranian culture and customs… even now, western lifestyle feels strange to me.
That’s the problem with the United States. It believes it can control everybody’s behavior.
Every statement that comes out of Washington that is not respectful and is trying to intimidate the Iranian people – is trying to put pressure on the Iranian people – strikes that very, very sensitive chord in the Iranian psyche, and they immediately react.
That’s what I do not believe – that dividing Iran into ‘reasonable’ and ‘unreasonable’ forces is either correct, conducive, or anybody’s business. When the United States exercised that practice in the past, it didn’t produce results.
It’s almost impossible to have security at the expense of insecurity of others. It’s almost impossible to have prosperity when there is a huge problem of poverty and backwardness all over the world.
Iran is not interested in a war. Iran is capable of defending itself and teaching a very harsh lesson to anybody who commits aggression against Iran, but we’re not interested.
We hope that Saudi Arabia can come to terms with its neighbours, end the hostilities – which can only produce hatred in Yemen – and live peacefully with their neighbours. They cannot blame everything on Iran.
Iran has not invaded any other country. We have not threatened to use force. Just exactly the opposite of Israel. Israel threatens to use force against Iran almost on a daily basis. And it has a record.
Actually, if you look at the essence of ISIS, how it came about, it’s the product of foreign invasion. Foreign invasion in Iraq led to removal of Saddam Hussein, and we’re not unhappy with that, but the point is that foreign presence in any territory has created dynamics. And you cannot avoid those dynamics.
I’m not that worried about war. Insecurity is the word I would use – insecurity and tension and conflict. I thought civilized people had abandoned wars. Sometimes people don’t make rational decisions.
In order to practice dialogue, you need to be able to set aside your assumptions and try to listen more than you want to talk. It’s not always politically correct to be able to do that, but it can give you a better sense of the reality.
If we can ascertain and show to our people that the West is ready to deal with Iran on the basis of mutual respect and mutual interests and equal footing, then it will have an impact on almost every aspect of Iran’s foreign policy behavior – and some aspects of Iran’s domestic policy.
I have no problem saying that I have differences in policy with the United States.
