Iranian Foreign Minister Javed Zarif slammed senior Saudi Minister remarks against Tehran
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TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has slammed a senior Saudi Foreign Ministry official for making remarks against the Islamic Republic, saying a "normal" country does not refuse to talk.
Zarif took to his official Twitter account on Friday to give response to Saudi Minister of State for Foreign Affairs Adel al-Jubeir who told CNBC link on Thursday that a restoration of ties with Iran will be possible when Iran "returns to a normal state."
Speaking at a World Economic Forum panel in Davos, Switzerland, Jubeir accused Iran of “meddling” in Iraq’s internal affairs and said, "The Iranians have to show good faith, the Iranians have to change their behavior and their policies."
In his tweet, Zarif said Saudi Arabia cannot be called a “normal” country when it caused a humanitarian crisis in Yemen and killed its dissident journalist Jamal Khashoggi inside the kingdom's consulate in Turkey.
link Javad Zarif ✔@JZarif link · Jan 23, 2020 link link
تبقی ايران منفتحة للحوار مع جاراتها و نعلن عن استعدادنا للمشارکة في أي عمل تکاملي يصب في مصلحة المنطقة ونرحّب بأي خطوة تعيد الأمل إلی شعوبها وتأتي لها بالإستقرار والإزدهار
link Javad Zarif ✔@JZarif link
“Normal” countries don’t operate abattoirs disguised as consulates.
“Normal” countries don’t attack their neighbors, cause a humanitarian crisis, and refuse to talk.
Nonetheless, WE don’t set preconditions for dialog.
"'Normal' countries don’t operate abattoirs disguised as consulates. 'Normal' countries don’t attack their neighbors, cause a humanitarian crisis, and refuse to talk," he said.
However, the top Iranian diplomat said Tehran was ready for talks without any preconditions.
"Nonetheless, WE don’t set preconditions for dialog," he pointed out.
Khashoggi, a former advocate of the Saudi royal court who later became a critic of Crown Prince Mohammad bin Salman, was killed after being lured into the Saudi consulate in Istanbul on October 2, 2018, and his body was dismembered by a Saudi hit squad.
The Saudi government initially claimed Khashoggi left the consulate on that day, but Riyadh later said that, after a thorough investigation into the case, it had reached the conclusion that he had been killed by a “rogue” group and not by direct order from the crown prince, who is seen as the de facto ruler of the Arab kingdom.
The *Washington Post *reported in November 2018 that the CIA had concluded that bin Salman had ordered the killing. Furthermore, an investigative team led by the United Nations also said it believed MbS was the prime suspect in the state-sponsored murder. Washington has refused to formally implicate Mohammed, however.
