Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammed Javad Zarif has raised doubts on the ability of European powers to bypass sanctions imposed on Tehran by the US after it withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal.
"The Europeans at first viewed the JCPOA (nuclear deal) as an achievement, but maybe they were not prepared to, and certainly they were not capable of standing up against US sanctions," Zarif said on Thursday in an interview with Khamenei.ir, the official website of Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei.
"We will continue pressing the Europeans to implement their commitments. Europe must know that they cannot shy away from their responsibilities with a few statements and some unaccomplished plans," he added.
Speaking last month on the occasion of the Iranian New Year, Khamenei said: "Once again the Europeans have stabbed us in the back, they have betrayed us.”
Although he was slamming Europeans, his words included direct blame to President Hassan Rouhani’s government in dealing with them.
Zarif said in the interview on Thursday that Iran would continue to pressure the Europeans to act on their obligations within the nuclear deal.
His remarks came hours after slamming three European countries for sending a letter to UN chief Antonio Guterres, asking him to "report fully and thoroughly on Iranian ballistic missile activity" in his next report, which is expected in June.
Zarif said the UK, France and Germany would rather seek to appease US President Donald Trump by pressuring the UN to provide the report on Iran’s missile activities than defy Washington’s measures.
