Israel ‘looking for war,’ says Iranian foreign minister

Icannot “leave itself defenceless” by halting missile production, because of the ever-increasing risk of war in the region, the country’s foreign minister has said.

Israel is looking for conflict and the United States (U.S.) is actively seeking regime change in Tehran, claimed Mohammad Javad Zarif, who urged the international community to do much more to prevent an outbreak of disastrous violence.

“Certainly some people are looking for war like Israel. The risk of war is great and that risk will be even greater if people continue to turn a blind eye to severe violations of international law,” said Mr Zarif at the Munich Security Conference.

The foreign minister accused the U.S. of having a “pathological obsession” with Iran ever since the Islamic revolution four decades ago and “that animus is now reaching new extremes”. Senior members of Donald Trump’s administration, he maintained, were seeking to overthrow the Iranian government.

Mr Zarif wanted to point out that national security adviser John Bolton had told an Iranian exile group, the Mujahedin Khalq (MEK) – once designated as a terrorists in the US and Europe – that the Trump administration should fully back their goal of immediate regime change and recognise the group as a viable alternative.

“John Bolton is now angry because he said he would celebrate with MEK in Tehran in 2019 and that is not going to happen,” said the foreign minister.