Recent developments very sad reflections of serious problem in US thinking: Iran’s Javad Zarif

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Iranian Foreign Minister Javad Zarif has said recent geo-political developments are “very sad reflections of a very serious problem in US’ thinking about the region (West Asia)”.

Zarif made the comment at the Raisina Dialogue event in New Delhi.

“I think developments over past few weeks are very sad reflections of a very serious problem in United States' thinking about the region. They look at things from their own perspective and not the perspective of the people of the region,” Zarif said.

“We need to create hope in region, we have to get rid of despair,” he said, adding that his country had incurred “hundreds of billions of dollars in damages” because of the ongoing tensions.

According to news agency PTI, Zarif said that the “killing of Qasem Soleimani shows ignorance and arrogance” and claimed that 430 Indian cities witnessed protests against the act.

The Iranian foreign minister also reiterated that shooting down of the civilian Ukrainian airlines near Tehran was a mistake. The incident had killed 176 people and has caused massive anti-government protests in Iran.

He arrived in New Delhi on January 14 on a three-day India visit at a time when tensions between Iran and the US are spiralling.

The tensions have risen after the killing of top Iranian military commander Maj Gen Soleimani by America in a drone attack.  Soleimani was the head of Iran's elite al-Quds force.

Iran retaliated launching over a dozen ballistic missiles targeting at least two bases where US military and coalition forces' are stationed in Iraq.

Indian External Affairs Minister S Jaishankar and Zarif are also expected to hold talks and deliberate on the fast escalating tensions between Iran and the US. India has been maintaining that it would like the situation to de-escalate as soon as possible and the country has been in touch with key players including Iran, United Arab Emirates, Oman and Qatar as it has important interests in the region.

Zarif is also expected to call on Prime Minister Narendra Modi, reports suggest.

India has strategic interests in the Gulf region which is a key source of the country's energy security.

Zarif also held talks with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov. The two discussed the evolving situation in the Gulf.