TEHRAN — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has urged regional countries to adopt a more “realistic” cooperation, instead of relying on “realpolitik” strategies, in order to guarantee security in the Persian Gulf.

“Realpolitik has failed miserably in providing security for anyone in the Persian Gulf. Let's try more ‘realistic' cooperation: the #HOPE initiative,” Zarif said in a post on his Twitter account on Tuesday.

“But, ‘Like the nuclear accord, no good idea can be pursued by only one party’,” he added.

HOPE — an acronym for Hormuz Peace Endeavor — was unveiled by President Hassan Rouhani during his speech at the 74th UN General Assembly.

“Based upon the historical responsibility of my country in maintaining security, peace, stability and progress in the Persian Gulf region and Strait of Hormuz, I would like to invite all the countries directly affected by the developments in the Persian Gulf and the Strait of Hormuz to the ‘Coalition for Hope’, meaning Hormuz Peace Endeavor,” Rouhani said at the summit.

Zarif’s tweet linked to a footage of a section of his speech last week at the Doha Forum in Qatar, where he elaborated on HOPE.

During that speech, Zarif warned against Washington’s military presence in the region, which he said has brought about disaster for regional countries and helped foment extremism.

The top diplomat emphasized, however, that the peace initiative needs collective efforts to materialize and said, “Like the nuclear accord, no good idea can be pursued by only one party.”

He was referring to the multilateral nuclear accord inked in 2015 between Iran and six major world states — the U.S., France, Britain, Russia, China and Germany.

The fate of the deal has been hanging in the balance since May 2018, when the U.S. unilaterally withdrew and launched a push to persuade the other signatories to follow suit.

Despite the hostile move and the ensuing European failure to uphold its end of the bargain, Iran remained compliant with the deal for an entire year before resorting to its legal rights and going for stage-by-stage reductions of its commitments.

MH/PA