WarSclerotic

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif penned an op-ed in the British daily Financial Times last week, in which he called on world powers to clinch a nuclear agreement with Iran in order to join forces and “confront the menace of violent extremism.”

In response to Zarif’s sentiments, Israel’s Foreign Ministry Director General Dore Gold issued his own op-ed, featured on the British news website The Telegraph, “reminding” Zarif’s readers that the same country urging war against Islamic State “extremists” was actually sponsoring organized terrorism “in some 30 countries and on five continents.”

“The only agreement that can withstand the test of time is a balanced one,” Zarif wrote. “Make no mistake: any attempt to gain at the expense of others is bound to be short-lived. Iran is ready to strike a fair and balanced deal and prepared to open new horizons to address the shared challenges of far greater magnitude.

“Among these shared threats is the increasingly brutal extremism that is engulfing the heart of the Middle East, and even extending into Europe. … Iran has spared no efforts in this war between humanity and inhumanity, where entire countries are being torn to shreds by roving bands of hooded men with no regard for the sanctity of human life,” he added.

“With a final nuclear agreement at hand, I hope my counterparts will make the historic choice between cooperation and conflict,” Zarif urged.

In response, Gold titled his article “Trusting Iran to stop terrorism is like inviting an arsonist to join the fire brigade.”

In it he argued that “the idea that Iran is a partner in the fight against terrorism is not only disingenuous but also absurd. What Zarif is seeking is a leap of faith by his Western readers, who are asked to believe that a country which has been repeatedly identified as the largest state supporter of terrorism in the world will suddenly be altered by an agreement over its nuclear program into an ally against terrorism. He is asking the world to simply trust Iran that this transformation is about to happen.”

Gold further asserted that “Zarif is the last Iranian official who should talk about rejecting terrorism. Last January, he paid a highly publicized visit to Lebanon and laid a wreath at the grave of Imad Mughniyeh, the mastermind of Hezbollah terrorism, who was responsible for the attacks in the 1980s on American and French forces in Beirut, hijacking civilian aircraft and taking international hostages.”