Iran’s foreign minister blames US for thwarting its nuclear programme

New Delhi: Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is on a two-day visit to India, accused US of intimidating and using pressure to thwart Tehran’s peaceful nuclear programme which western countries have long suspected a ‘façade’ of covertly researching the means to develop nuclear weapons.Tehran denies that its nuclear programme has any latent military purposes and has signalled repeatedly it would resist dismantling its nuclear installations as part of any deal. Zarif, who was addressing a memorial lecture in New Delhi on the invitation of his Indian counterpart Salman Khurshid, lashed out at the foreign policy of the United States of using ‘force’ and said it will never work against any state, citing examples of Vietnam, Iraq and Afghanistan. Zarif added that it would be difficult for the US and western forces to win back the trust of the Iranian public.