Zarif: West’s arms have turned...

“We have lived, for 40 years, without American support. For 40 years, we have been living in spite of American pressure. This [independence] does not mean confrontation with and separation from the world. Rather, it means that we have chosen not to be dependent on others for continuing our livelihood,” the minister said.

By taking such a course, Zarif said, “certainly no one would be able to say [things like], ‘If it weren’t for us, the Iranians would be speaking, say, Chinese or Russian.’”

The top diplomat was making a reference to remarks by US Senator Lindsey Graham about Saudi Arabia, who told Fox News last December that Saudi Arabia would be defeated by Iran militarily “in about a week” if it did not have the support of the US.

“Let me put it this way — I want to be very blunt with you: If it weren’t for the United States, they’d be speaking Farsi in about a week in Saudi Arabia,” Graham said back then, acknowledging the depth of the Saudi dependence on the US.

‘Post-western world’

Zarif further said that the West was no longer the focal point of decision-making in the world.

“We [now] live in the post-western world,” he said, adding that countries need to adopt multilateral approaches under the current circumstances.

Zarif also emphasized the importance of simultaneously exercising hard and soft power.

“Field power and diplomacy should have a synergistic effect,” he said.