TEHRAN — Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Iran rejects nuclear weapons for religious and strategic reasons, calling on the three European parties to the 2015 nuclear pact to reject the U.S. economic terrorism against Iran.

“Iran rejects nuclear weapons for religious & strategic reasons—far weightier than any ‘deal’,” Zarif wrote in a tweet on Thursday.

“But if E3/EU want full implementation of CBMs & enhanced transparency that JCPOA provides, they should reject US #EconomicTerrorism just as they've rejected its vandalism in the #UNSC,” he added.

In May 2018, U.S. President Donald Trump withdrew his country from the Iran nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and introduced the “toughest ever sanctions” on Iran.

“He (Trump) thinks cold war is good for business while hot war is not.”

Meanwhile, Washington has accused Tehran of violating the JCPOA and attempted last month to reimpose the UN sanctions on the Islamic Republic.

The U.S. move to trigger what is known as the “snapback” mechanism came a week after its efforts to extend the UN arms embargo on Tehran failed miserably. Only the Dominican Republic joined Washington in voting yes.

The United States argues that it can trigger the sanctions snapback process because the 2015 Security Council resolution still names it as a nuclear deal participant.

However, in a joint letter to the Security Council hours after the U.S. submitted it complaint, Britain, Germany and France said: “Any decisions and actions which would be taken based on this procedure or on its possible outcome would also be devoid of any legal effect.”

In another tweet on Thursday, Zarif said the U.S. president thinks cold war is good for business while hot war is not.

“While @realDonaldTrump admits the US thirst for war to fill the coffers of ‘those wonderful companies’, he's been busy flogging their ‘beautiful military equipment’ to our region,” Zarif wrote.

“We get it. He thinks cold war is good for business while hot war is not,” Zarif said, adding, “War is bad, period.”

MH/PA