Tuesday, 25 August 2020_Iran’s foreign minister says his American counterpart, Mike Pompeo, is trying to “flood our region” with all kinds of US weapons even when his country’s own laws prohibit such a measure.
Mohammad Javad Zarif’s comments came in a Monday tweet after Pompeo said earlier the same day and following his meeting with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu in Jerusalem al-Quds that the US will find a way to balance helping its military ally, the United Arab Emirates, without weakening Israel’s qualitative military edge (QME).
Pompeo’s remarks came amid controversy over whether the US will sell F-35 stealth jets to Abu Dhabi, after the Emirati officials unveiled their plan to totally normalize their country’s relations with Israel.
“The US has legal requirements with respect to the QME, and we will respect that,” Pompeo said, adding, “We have a 20-plus year security relationship with the UAE as well.”
In response to the US secretary of state's comments, Zarif said, “Outlaw @SecPompeo has no qualms about violating his own country's laws” while alluding to Pompeo’s meeting with the Israeli prime minister by adding, “Standing next to World's #1 nuclear threat, he declares his desire to flood our region with even more US weapons.”
Outlaw @SecPompeo has no qualms about violating his own country's laws.
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) August 24, 2020
Standing next to World's #1 nuclear threat, he declares his desire to flood our region with even more US weapons—all while trying to impede lawful normalization of Iran's defense
cooperation with the world. pic.twitter.com/dXdJBZgAt5
Iran’s top diplomat further noted that the US officials’ plan to flood the West Asia region with American weapons comes despite the fact that the administration of US President Donald Trump is, at the same time, “trying to impede lawful normalization of Iran's defense cooperation with the world.”
To shed more light on the US administration’s plan to sell more weapons to the West Asian countries, Zarif mentioned a July 24 article by the New York Times in which the prestigious American daily had revealed the Trump administration’s plan to sell “large armed drones” to Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The New York Times noted that the Trump administration’s decision has been opposed internally by arms control officials and lawmakers trying to limit the proliferation of such drones, especially in countries like Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
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