Israel National News
Iranian Vice President Mohammad Javad Zarif claimed on Wednesday that Iran had no knowledge of Hamas’ October 7, 2023, attack on Israel.
Speaking at the World Economic Forum in Davos and quoted by AFP, Zarif also stated that the October 7 attack ‘destroyed’ the prospects of reviving the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers.
‘We were supposed to have a meeting with the Americans on JCPOA renewal on October 9, which was undermined and destroyed by this operation,’ Zarif said, referring to the 2015 by its formally name, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Zarif claimed that Tehran’s regional allies, including Hamas, often acted independently of Iran’s interests.
‘Tehran’s allies in the region, including Hamas, have always worked for their own cause, even at our expense,’ he said, adding, ‘We never tried to cash (in on) our investment in the region.’
Zarif’s claims echo ones made by Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who lauded the October 7 attack but denied any Iranian involvement in it.
‘The supporters of the Zionist regime (Israel) and some people in the usurping regime have been spreading rumors over the past two or three days, including that Islamic Iran was behind this action. They are wrong,’ Khamenei said in a speech at a military academy three days after the attack.
Khamenei’s denial followed a Wall Street Journal report which claimed that Iranian security officials helped plan Hamas’ attack and gave the green light for the assault at a meeting in Beirut.
Zarif, who currently serves as Iran’s Vice President for strategic affairs, played a central role in negotiating the 2015 nuclear deal while serving as Foreign Minister.
Iran has taken many steps to scale back its compliance with the 2015 nuclear deal it signed with world powers, in response to Donald Trump’s withdrawing the US from the agreement during his first term as President.
These steps include banning UN nuclear inspectors from the country as well as expanding uranium enrichment capabilities.
Despite these steps, Iran has expressed an openness to resuming the agreement. Earlier this month, Iranian officials held nuclear discussions with representatives from Britain, France, and Germany. Both sides described the talks as ‘frank and constructive.’
Zarif in his remarks claimed that Iran has never sought nuclear weapons. ‘Had we wanted to build a nuclear weapon, we could have done it a long time ago. But a program to build nuclear weapons is not going to be like our program.’
He also expressed optimism about the future, calling on Trump to approach relations with Iran more rationally during his current term. ‘We hope he would choose ‘rationality’ and ‘be more serious, more focused, more realistic’ in dealing with Iran,’ Zarif said.