Zarif: US Troops in Syria to Add Fuel to Fire in Region

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says any bid by the US to dispatch ground troops to Syria to allegedly fight Daesh Takfiri terrorists in the country would fan the flames of extremism in the Middle East and adversely impact the security of the whole world, according to Press TV.

“We cannot commit to solutions that are part of the problem. I believe that the presence of foreign troops in Arab territory is a recipe for those extremists to rally behind and gain new fighters from disenfranchised youth,” Zarif said in an interview with CNN on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference on Friday.

A US military official recently suggested that the White House may authorize sending combat troops to Syria.

“It’s possible that you may see conventional forces hit the ground in Syria for some period of time,” CNN reported on Wednesday night, citing the official.

During the presidential campaign, US President Donald Trump had openly supported deploying a large contingent of US troops to Syria.

Zarif added that a nationwide “ceasefire” in Syria was largely working, adding that the US “occupation” of Iraq is to blame for the creation of Daesh terrorist group.

The Iranian foreign minister said Trump himself has accused former President Barack Obama of creating Daesh terrorist group and criticized Washington’s policy of arming so-called opposition groups in Syria.

Further touching upon the foreign-backed crisis in Syria, Zarif said, “The same people who armed Daesh, armed the terrorist groups, were the same people who created and armed al-Qaeda.”

‘JCPOA will stay in place’

Elsewhere, the top Iranian diplomat also said the landmark nuclear agreement, known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), signed by the Islamic Republic and six world powers in 2015 would stay in place, despite claims to the contrary from members of the Trump administration.

There was an international consensus not to let the nuclear agreement unravel, he added.

“I believe everybody, including experts in the United States, know this was the best deal possible deal for all concerned, not just Iran but the US too,” Zarif said.

He added, “It was a triumph of diplomacy over coercion, because coercion doesn’t work anymore.”

US sanctions won’t work with Iran

The Iranian minister pointed to the recent US bans imposed on Iran, the first by the US government since President Trump took office on January 20, and said sanctions would never work with the Islamic Republic.

“Everybody [in] the past who has tested Iran knows we don’t respond well to threats. We respond well to mutual respect and mutual interests,” the Iranian foreign minister added.

He noted that all efforts by the Obama administration to use economic sanctions to curtail Iran’s peaceful nuclear program eventually failed.

Trump travel ban insult to entire nation

In response to a question about Trump’s proposed, but currently stalled, travel ban on seven mainly Muslim countries, including Iran, Zarif said the decision “was an affront to the entire nation.”

“You cannot find any Iranian who has committed a single act of terror against Americans, in any of these atrocities that have taken place,” he said.

He added, “Iran has always condemned every single terrorist incident in the United States since 9/11.”

Zarif said Iranians were among the most successful immigrants to the US.

“They (US officials) don’t understand in a globalized world you cannot contain threats to one locality. Syria is now a training ground for terrorists creating havoc everywhere,” the top Iranian diplomat stated.

H.M