TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Saturday that the U.S. has turned the Middle East region into a “gunpowder store”.

“The U.S. has made the region a gunpowder store, which shows that they are seeking a very dangerous policy in our region,” he told reporters on the sidelines of a conference titled “The Challenges of Terrorism and Inter-Regional Connectivity” attended by parliament speakers of Afghanistan, China, Iran, Pakistan, Russia and Turkey. 

Zarif added, “The U.S. has turned the region into a gunpowder store. The amount of weapons that the U.S. sells the region is unbelievable and much more than the region’s need, which shows that the U.S. is following a very dangerous policy in our region.”

On the U.S. accusations against Iran about its missile program, he described the accusations as “meaningless”.

Recently, U.S Secretary of State Mike Pompeo claimed that Iran had just test-fired a medium-range missile “that is capable of carrying multiple warheads” in contravention of the UN Security Council Resolution 2231. 

In response, Zarif said the UN Security Council Resolution 2231 and the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, do not restrict Iran’s missile program.

Zarif reiterated Iran’s long-held policy that Tehran does not seek to build nuclear weapons and that the country’s missiles are not designed to carry nuclear warheads.

NA/PA