Zarif hits back at S Arabia over ‘normal country’ remarks

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Saudi Arabia’s direct involvement in Yemen’s humanitarian crisis and the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi makes the country far from what one would call ‘normal’.

News ID: 79983

Date: 24 January 2020 - 17:09

“‘Normal’ countries don’t operate abattoirs disguised as consulates,” FM Zarif wrote in a tweet on Friday, in reference to the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi at the Saudi consulate in Istanbul.

“‘Normal’ countries don’t attack their neighbors, cause a humanitarian crisis, and refuse to talk,” Zarif added, referring to the Saudi-led aggression in Yemen, which has claimed more than 100,000 lives over the past four and a half years.

“Nonetheless, WE don’t set preconditions for dialog,” the Iranian diplomat stressed.

Zarif’s tweet was in reaction to the recent remarks by Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, who told CNBC that Iran has to act like a ‘normal country’ before Saudi Arabia would be willing to sit down and have a dialogue with them.

The Iranian foreign minister had said in another tweet in Arabic on Thursday that “Iran remains open to dialogue with its neighbors, and we declare our readiness to participate in any complementary work that is in the interest of the region, and we welcome any step that restores hope to its people and brings them stability and prosperity.”

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