Speaking at the Munich Security Conference this weekend, Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif accused Israel and the United States of escalating the likelihood of war in the Middle East.
Mohammad Javad Zarif: “I think, last time I checked international law, violating Lebanon’s airspace and shooting into Syria is a violation of international law. … So, let’s wake up.”
Lyse Doucet: “So, the risk [of war with Israel] is great?”
Mohammad Javad Zarif: “Risk is great.”
Last week, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu boasted that a U.S.-convened conference in Poland was aimed at promoting war with Iran, while U.S. Vice President Mike Pence called on European allies to pull out of the historic Iran nuclear accord. Germany has openly rejected this call, defending a multilateral approach to tackling the issue. Israel launched a series of airstrikes last month against facilities it says belonged to Iran’s Revolutionary Guard in Syria.