Iran’s Foreign Minister did a series of interviews today with American media addressing Iran’s plan to retaliate for the killing of Iranian Major General Qassem Soleimani. Javad Zarif told ABC’s Martha Raddatz:
“Iran is a very patient country, we will take our action after necessary deliberation, but I’m sure that it will be taken at a time of our choosing, not at a time of the United States choosing.”
"We don't carry cowardly acts of terror like the United States": Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif sat down with @ABC News' @MarthaRaddatz after top Iranian general Qassem Soleimani was killed in a U.S. airstrike. https://t.co/vGnaLY3bkf pic.twitter.com/4FRHXDBfnA
— ABC News (@ABC) January 7, 2020
Zarif also told CNN’s Fred Pleitgen:
“We will respond proportionately, not disproportionately because we are committed to law. We are law-abiding people, we are not lawless like President Trump.”
And he added this about Trump:
“His threats will not frighten us. He’s showing something, he’s showing to the international community that he has no respect for international law, that he is prepared to commit war crimes because attacking cultural sites is a war crime. Disproportionate response is a war crime. But he doesn’t care it seems about international law. But has he made U.S. more secure? Do Americans feel more secure?”
“He needs to wake up and apologize. he has to apologize. He has to change course. He cannot add mistake upon another mistake. He is just making it worse for America. He is destroying the U.S. constitution. He is destroying the U.S. political process. He is destroying the rule of law in the United States.”
Watch the full interview below.
Iran's Foreign Minister Javad Zarif called President Trump's decision to order the airstrike that killed top Iranian military commander Qasem Soleimani an act of "state terrorism" in an interview with CNN. https://t.co/NHxEPJhTTx pic.twitter.com/NuKXgILpWF
— New Day (@NewDay) January 7, 2020
Zarif also spoke with CBS about the U.S. denying his visa to attend a United Nations Security Council meeting in New York this week saying, “what are they really afraid of?”
Three days of public mourning for Iran's most powerful military commander are coming to an end and top Iranian officials are warning the US that retaliation is coming.
Iran's foreign minister told @ElizaPalmer that the killing of Soleimani was a "cowardly terrorist operation." pic.twitter.com/Xn5JeL28eq
— CBS This Morning (@CBSThisMorning) January 7, 2020
Watch more from CBS above.