Zarif: The 'Action Group' is Seeking a Similar Coup to the 28 Mordad Against Iran

Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the 'Action Group' formed by the U.S. State Department aims for the 'overthrow' of the Islamic Republic but will ultimately 'fail.' He made this statement on his Twitter account on the 65th anniversary of the 28 Mordad event, which led to the overthrow of Prime Minister Mohammad Mossadegh. Following the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA and the re-imposition of sanctions against Iran, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo established a special group within the State Department to coordinate and implement Washington's policies regarding Tehran. Zarif compared the 28 Mordad incident and the renewed U.S. sanctions against Iran, asserting that Tehran will not allow 'history to repeat itself.' He tweeted, '65 years ago on this day, the U.S. overthrew the democratic government of Dr. Mossadegh, reinstated dictatorship, and subjected the Iranian people to its domination for 25 years.' He also noted that the 'Action Group' intends to execute similar actions through pressure, deceit, and demagoguery. Recently, Brian Hook, the U.S. Special Representative for Iran, stated that the goal of the maximum pressure campaign against Iran is to cut off the country's access to financial resources for funding terrorism and its missile program. According to him, the 'Action Group' will be responsible for coordinating actions against Iran across all U.S. government departments and agencies. Hook had previously held negotiations with European countries to amend the nuclear agreement with Iran, which proved fruitless, leading to Donald Trump's decision to withdraw the U.S. from the JCPOA in pursuit of a new agreement with Iran. Despite European countries and the EU repeatedly affirming their commitment to the international agreement, Zarif claims that 'Europe is still not ready to bear the costs.' Despite promises from European officials to maintain economic relations with Iran and protect their companies from U.S. sanctions, major European companies have gradually exited Iran in recent months. In an interview with Young Journalists Club, Zarif stated that since the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA, Europeans have taken some practical steps, including implementing blocking regulations and obtaining a permit for the European Investment Bank, which he views as more of a statement than an operational action. He explicitly stated, 'Although they have made some progress, we believe that Europe is still not ready to bear the costs.' According to the Iranian Foreign Minister, 'European political will will only be able to respond from Iran when accompanied by executive actions.' He noted that while Europeans have 'advanced things to some extent,' it has not been sufficient, and thus they have informed Europeans of the actions they expect. Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic, had previously stated that European countries 'expect' both the sanctions to remain and the nuclear restrictions. He set conditions, including 'guaranteeing trade with Iran by European banks' and 'guaranteeing the full sale of Iran's oil,' for Tehran to continue adhering to the JCPOA, stating that if Europeans delay in responding to the demands, the Islamic Republic reserves the right to resume nuclear activities. Bijan Zanganeh, Iran's Oil Minister, mentioned in July regarding the oil proposal included in the EU package to maintain the JCPOA that 'I have not seen this proposal yet, but my colleagues in the Foreign Ministry have seen it and apparently are not very satisfied with its details.'