Iran says US threat of military action ’empty, useless’

Iran hit out Friday against US Secretary of State John Kerry, accusing him of threatening military action against Tehran if it fails to respect a historic nuclear deal sealed on July 14.

“Unfortunately the US Secretary of State once again talked about the rotten rope of ‘the ability of the US for using military force’,” said Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in a statement.

Zarif decried what he called the “uselessness of such empty threats against the nation of Iran and the resistance of the nation of Iran,” and said such remarks should be consigned “to the last century.”

Despite the agreement reached with Iran on putting the nuclear bomb out of Tehran’s reach, several US officials, including Defense Secretary Ashton Carter, have signaled that military force remains on the table to prevent Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons.

Kerry and other American officials “have repeatedly admitted that these threats have no effect on the will of the people of Iran and that it will change the situation to their disadvantage,” Zarif claimed.

“Therefore, it would be better for Americans to abandon their old habit and put aside once and for all their threatening language and sanctions against this great people,” he added.

Meanwhile Voice of America reported Friday that Kerry would be flying to Qatar in early August to discuss details of the Iran nuclear deal with Gulf nations.

Kerry said that while there, he would “lay out the next progression” of plans to establish a unified Arab front to Iranian expansionism in the region.

Under the July 14 agreement, Iran has agreed to dismantle or mothball much of its nuclear industry in return for an easing and eventual lifting of sanctions. World powers have called it a historic opportunity to set relations with Iran on a new path.

Kerry warned earlier Friday that any Israeli military action against Iran over its nuclear program would be an “enormous mistake” and would have “grave consequences for Israel and for the region.”

He also said that, should Congress vote against the Iranian nuclear deal signed last week in Vienna, Israel could find itself more isolated in the international arena and “more blamed.”

The secretary met Friday with the leaders of US Jewish organizations in New York, with the Iran nuclear agreement taking center stage. The talks were described as frank and important, but participants told The Times of Israel that concerns over the Iran deal were not resolved.

In two separate closed-door meetings, one with umbrella organization the Conference of Presidents of Major Jewish Organizations and the other with the American Jewish Committee, Kerry also took questions from the audience.

Kerry “discussed the provisions of the agreement and their implications, as well as, a wide-range of concerns raised by the American Jewish leaders about potential Iranian threats to the United States, the Middle-East and Israel,” the Conference said in a statement. “The Jewish leaders raised questions about provisions to curtail Iran’s nuclear weapons program as well as concerns regarding Iran’s violations of human rights, its ballistic missile development program, ongoing threats against Israel, and expanding support for terrorist organizations.”

Rebecca Shimoni Stoil contributed to this report.