Iran Minister Says Israel No longer As Invincible As It Claims To Be

In remarks about the Hamas-Israel war, Zarif on Friday said that Israel had solidified its reputation as an invincible power amongst Palestinians, and the Arab and international community by carrying out aggressive actions.

“Israel’s fake image of resistance is now ruined. Israel’s barbaric actions is the reason for their continues defeat,” Zarif said.

Zarif, who negotiated the JCPOA nuclear accord with the United States in 2015 said that Israel has kept the Palestinians in a prison for 70 years.

In parts of his comments, Zarif spoke about IRGC’s notorious operator Qasem Soleimani and claimed that the debt the Middle East owes him for regional security.

As the commander of IRGC’s Quds extraterritorial force, Soleimani was the architect of Iran’s proxy warfare in the region, including his role in the Syrian civil war during which hundreds of thousands died. He was killed by a US drone attack in 2020. 

The former foreign minister said that European countries have been preaching about human right, but they are now supporting the killings of civilians in Gaza.

“The Europeans are gagged about Israel’s crimes,” Zarif said.

This is while Iran experienced several uprisings during Zarif’s term as foreign minister (2013-2021) where authorities killed and arrested tens of thousands of people for protesting.

Also, it was during Zarif’s tenure that the Ukraine International Airlines Flight PS752 was shot down by two air-defense missiles fired by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on January 8, 2020, shortly after taking off from Tehran's Imam Khomeini International Airport.