DER SPIEGEL: Mr. Foreign Minister, in May, United States President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the Iran nuclear deal. In August, sanctions against your country were reimposed and since then, the Iranian economy has been struggling. Do you feel as though you have been left in the lurch by Europe?
Zarif: The Europeans are facing a very fundamental question on the principles of international relations. The U.S. wants to force its political and economic will onto the rest of the world. There is a UN Security Council resolution on the nuclear agreement and Iran is observing it while the U.S. is violating it. Now, the U.S. is demanding that others join them in breaking international law. Europe has to decide whether it will submit to that demand. It is a precedent that will have consequences for a very long time.
DER SPIEGEL: Trump has announced that he plans to impose additional sanctions on Iran in early November aimed at preventing your country from exporting oil. Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has threatened that if Washington goes through with it, Iran would close down the Strait of Hormuz. That would be a de facto declaration of war against the United States.
Zarif: Rouhani was speaking about the case that the Americans were actually able to block Iranian oil exports. If that were to happen, nobody else would be able to assume business as usual either.
DER SPIEGEL: Rouhani warned the U.S. “not to play with the tail of the lion,” saying they would “regret” it.
Zarif: We don’t think it will come to that. Iran will still be able to sell oil. If the U.S. really wanted to prevent Iranian oil exports, they would need more than just threats. And then, we would be faced with a completely different situation.