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The US "shot itself in the foot," by withdrawing from the nuclear deal with Iran, Iranian Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif said in an interview with Bloomberg TV

He also accused the European countries that are part of the agreement that they did not comply with the US.

According to him, promises to allow Iran to sell oil and repatriate money have not been fulfilled.

Touching upon US allegations that Iran has never given up its goal of building nuclear weapons, Zarif said Iran has the technical ability to pursue them “very rapidly” but “we’re not going to” because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei made a “religious commitment” that they are forbidden.

Iran began to gradually suspend its obligations under the nuclear deal, including exceeding the permissible level of uranium enrichment.

“Yeah, we will continue with the steps, and these steps are legal, in line with the agreement,” Zarif said when asked about the likelihood of continuing uranium enrichment.

The Iranian Foreign Minister also expressed skepticism over the revision of the agreement to include talks on Iran’s missile program.

“You don’t buy a horse twice,” he said.

Responding to the US allegations that Tehran is fueling instability throughout the Middle East, Zarif said that Saudi Arabia and the United Arab Emirates, who buy billions of dollar’s worth of weapons from the US, are the main culprits of the unrest in the region. He noted that under no circumstances could Iran abandon its missiles, given the arms build-up in the region.

Asked to comment whether there is a diplomatic solution to the problem of tension between the US and Iran, Zarif suggested that President Hassan Rouhani’s government draws lessons from Trump’s threats to Mexico over trade and immigration, and that Tehran was clear that Washington would continue to ask for more, even if the two parties must end up with a new deal.

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