TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday that the next U.S. administration must compensate for the harms Washington has inflicted on Iran.

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“It is not important for us who will win the upcoming election in the U.S., but it is important for us to see Washington rectify its approach towards Tehran,” Press TV quoted Zarif as saying in a virtual address to the annual Mediterranean Dialogues 2020 conference hosted by Italy.

The chief diplomat noted that anyone who will take office in the White House must take steps to compensate harms and losses inflicted on Iran.

Zarif also pointed to the U.S. economic terrorism, saying those who claim that Iran is not subject to medical sanctions should know that it is not possible for the country to buy medicine because banks refuse to do transactions with Iran.

The foreign minister also attached great importance to diplomacy, saying it is the most effective tool to resolve international issues.

The foreign minister said the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the JCPOA, was a great diplomatic achievement which was reached following serious and long-term negotiations.

‘U.S. weapon sale is a factor of instability in the world’

Zarif also faulted the U.S. weapon sale as a main factor that has intensified instability in the world.

The weapons the U.S. sells only to Saudi Arabia each year is three times the total Iranian defense budget, the minister stated.

Zarif who Iran’s chief negotiator in nuclear talks with the 5+1 group (the five permanent memebrs of the UN Security Council plus Germany) said Tehran signed the JCPOA with open eyes it triggered the deal’s dispute resolution mechanism (DRM) at the right time.

Zarif added that five years have passed since the conclusion of the JCPOA and Iran has not yet reaped the economic benefits of the deal due to the acts of sabotage by certain sides and Europeans’ lack of commitment to their obligations.

NA/PA