NAM States Urged to Help Uphold Int’l Order

EghtesadOnline: Members of the Non-Aligned Movement need to join forces to maintain the lawful international order that is under threat more than any time today, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said.

News ID: ۷۴۷۹۴۶

22 July 2019

"If we don't do so, we'll all be losers," he said in an address to the meeting of top diplomats from NAM in Caracas, Venezuela, on Saturday.

NAM is a multinational organization comprising 120 developing states that are not formally aligned with or against any major power bloc.

Zarif said the movement needs to use its full potential to overcome the daunting challenges of the present time as well as those that are emerging, Financial Tribune reported.

"Opposing unilateralism and attempting to ensure the rule of law at the international level has been on NAM's agenda since its establishment," he added, according to a Persian translation of his remarks published by ISNA.

The foreign minister slammed the United States for its "new wave of extremist and unilateral adventurism" that is undermining the rule of law and threatening peace and stability across the world.

According to Zarif, nearly all the world is confronted with challenges caused by the US in one way or another.

He explained that some nations are experiencing US "unilateral economic sanctions and military threats" while others are suffering a damage caused by its "undigested supportive policies".

The foreign minister noted that even many American allies are facing its interference in their domestic affairs.

“US policies are also hitting international collaborations in various sectors such as trade and environment in an unprecedented way," Zarif told the conference.

"Calling to mind the previous round of American unilateral policies in the early 2000s…, the onus is on us to stand up to this new wave and push it back.”

A Resistance Pioneer

Zarif further said Iran is a pioneer and at the forefront of resisting the US new unilateral tendencies, which includes its full-scale economic terrorism.

"Our sincere efforts to address concerns over our peaceful nuclear program, although baseless, are among the many victims of the new unilateralism," he said.

Iran signed a deal in 2015 with the six world powers, under which it agreed to curb its nuclear program in return for relief from international sanctions.

Nevertheless, the US pulled out of the agreement last year and reimposed sanctions along with an all-out pressure campaign on Tehran, arguing that the deal was defective and a new one had to be negotiated.

Other parties have been attempting to save the deal by protecting Iran's economic interests, but their plans are hindered by US sanctions.

"The US administration is pushing the nuclear deal toward failure, despite the investment the whole world made to bring it about," Zarif said.

In doing so, he added, it has not only breached the United Nations Security Council resolutions, but has also shamefully sanctioned those who wanted to abide by the accord.

Following the conference, Zarif also met Venezuela's President Nicolas Maduro and Vice President Delcy Rodriguez to discuss bilateral ties and the latest regional and international developments.