Close to both India, Pakistan, ready to mediate if asked: Iran

In response to a question on whether Iran will play a role in resolving the Kashmir dispute, Zarif, who proved his mettle as a negotiator in sewing up the nuclear deal with P-5+1 countries after tough negotiations, said, “We have excellent relations with both India and Pakistan. Pakistan is a very close neighbour, India is a very close partner for Iran, with whom we have historical ties, cultural ties. Many Indians and Pakistanis recite Persian poetry. We cannot lose that bond. That bond is too important to lose both with India and Pakistan.”

“We hope for the best of both countries. If Iran can be of any help to any of them, we stand ready. We are not volunteering, but we stand ready if anything is asked of us. We will be there because these two neighbours are extremely important to us,” he said in response to questions at an event organised by the Observer Research Foundation in New Delhi.

He said that Iran shares “common ideas” and “common vision” with both India and Pakistan in the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM). “So we all hope we move forward to better relations with our very dear friends, India and Pakistan,” Zarif said.

Zarif is visiting India for the Heart of Asia conference.

The Iranian Foreign Minister also recalled the Chabahar agreement between India, Afghanistan and Iran as an example of their shared vision in the region.

On whether the nuclear deal with P-5+1 will be impacted by the new US administration under Donald Trump, Zarif said he feels that the nuclear agreement with the US is “not in jeopardy”.

“The nuclear agreement is not a bilateral agreement but a multilateral agreement that came after everything failed… I don’t think that the nuclear deal is in jeopardy,” he said, noting that the resolution in the American senate dents the credibility of US.

“We have said that if they go back to sanctions then we will not consider ourselves bound by this agreement… Our options are wide open… We prepare this mutually accepted decision,” he said.

His comments came after the US Senate voted 99-0 to extend the sanctions (Iran Sanctions Act) for another decade this week. Iran says that the measure will be a clear violation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a nuclear agreement between Tehran and the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany).