Zarif: Tehran Rejects US Claims on Alleged Use of Chemical Weapon by Syrian Army in Khan Sheikhoun

NEW YORK, (ST)- Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has reaffirmed his country’s rejection of the American claims about the alleged use of chemical weapons by the Syrian Arab army in Idleb’s Khan Sheikhoun, pointing out that “Iran has suggested forming an investigative team and sending it to al-Shairat  airbase in Homs, but this suggestion was refused”.

 In a speech at the Research Center at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) in New York, Zarif stressed the need to conduct investigations in the alleged Khan Sheikhoun incident, noting that “it is not acceptable to let America play the role of the judge, the prosecutor and the punisher at the same time.”  

 He pointed out that Iran is a victim of the use of chemical weapon and it considers this kind of weapon a red line.

Elsewhere in his statement, Zarif described the crisis in Yemen as the worst nightmare in terms of human rights.

In another context, the Iranian top diplomat warned Washington against violating the nuclear deal, saying that Tehran may withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) if this happens.

“If it comes to a major violation, or what in the terms of the nuclear deal is called significant nonperformance, then Iran has other options available, including withdrawing from the deal,” Zarif said in an interview with the National Interest magazine in New York on Monday.

He went on to say that wrong signaling by US President Donald Trump in the past few weeks in our region, particularly after the Riyadh summit, has caused a rather serious backlash in the region—not between US allies and Iran, but among US allies. So I believe it would be important to keep that in consideration, to understand the complexities of the situation.

Hamda Mustafa