‘Hell will freeze over’: Iranian FM responds to Pompeo’s Cairo speech

Published time: 10 Jan, 2019 19:49Edited time: 10 Jan, 2019 20:22

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Iranians mark anniversary of 1979 US embassy takeover, Tehran, November 2018 © Global Look Press via ZUMA Press / Rouzbeh Fouladi

Iran’s foreign minister fired back at US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo’s speech in Cairo, Egypt, declaring that hell would freeze over before Iran “mimics US clients.”

“Whenever/wherever US interferes, chaos, repression & resentment follow,”Mohammad Javad Zarif tweeted on Thursday, adding that it’s “best for the US to just get over loss of Iran.”

“The day Iran mimics US clients and Secretary Pompeo's ‘human rights models’ – be it the Shah or current butchers – to become a ‘normal’ country is the day hell freezes over,” Zarif said.

Javad Zarif

✔@JZarif

Whenever/wherever US interferes, chaos, repression & resentment follow. The day Iran mimics US clients & @SecPompeo's "human rights models”—be it the Shah or current butchers—to become a “normal" country is the day hell freezes over. Best for the US to just get over loss of Iran.

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9:20 PM - Jan 10, 2019

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The foreign minister’s remarks come after his US counterpart gave a fiery speech in Egypt on Thursday declaring America a “force for good” in the Middle East. Pompeo praised Washington’s Arab allies for fighting what he called Iran’s “malign” influence in the region.

“The nations of the Middle East will never enjoy security, achieve economic stability, or advance the dreams of its peoples if Iran's revolutionary regime persists on its current course,” Pompeo said at one point.

Secretary Pompeo

✔@SecPompeo

Nations are rallying to confront #Iran’s revolutionary agenda like never before: Cutting Iran’s oil imports to zero, thwarting sanctions evasion, countering terrorism in Europe & isolating Iran’s corrupt banking system. The world is recognizing the full scope of Iran's threats.

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10:01 PM - Jan 10, 2019

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Back in November, when Washington reinstated sanctions against Iran that had been suspended under the 2015 nuclear deal – which the Trump administration repudiated in March last year – Pompeo vowed that they would stay in place until Iran starts acting like a “normal” country. He repeated that position in Cairo on Thursday.

“America's economic sanctions against the regime are the strongest in history, and will keep getting tougher until Iran starts behaving like a normal country. The 12 demands we stated in May remain in force, because the regime's threat to the region endures,” Pompeo said.

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Hostility between the US and Iran goes back to 1979, when the monarchy, propped up by Washington since the 1953 CIA coup, was overthrown in a revolution and an Islamic republic declared in its stead. The longest-running US national emergency was declared in November 1979 to seize Iranian property in the US, and remains active to the present day.