TEHRAN – A top lawmaker says Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif’s “righteous” and “clever” remarks have agitated U.S. national security advisor John Bolton and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo.

Mohammad Javad Jamali Nobandegani, a member of the presiding board of the Majlis National Security and Foreign Policy Committee, made the remarks on Tuesday, speaking with IRNA.

Zarif’s stances in his interviews with American news networks, especially Fox News which is the loud speaker of America’s hardliners, made Bolton and Pompeo “angry”, Jamali Nobandegani said.

The Iranian foreign minister’s remarks were logical, decisive and based on international law, especially with regard to the Strait of Hormuz, he added.

In his interview with Fox News on Sunday, Zarif said all measures adopted by the administration of President Trump in dealing with Iran conveyed a message that “the United States is not reliable”.

“Maybe he [Trump] believes in America first, but America cannot be first in a globally insecure environment,” Zarif stated.

“We all need to work together in a global environment that is safe and you can only live in a safe global environment if you respect yourself by respecting your signature,” the chief diplomat noted.

He emphasized that the B-team – U.S. national security advisor John Bolton, Saudi Arabian Crown Prince Mohammad Bin Salman, Abu Dhabi Crown Prince of Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan (MBZ), and Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, also known as Bibi – seeks to “lure” the U.S. into a confrontation with Iran that Trump himself does not want.

“They have all shown an interest in dragging the United States into a conflict,” Zarif said of Israel, Saudi Arabia, the United Arab Emirates plus Bolton.

MH/PA