Before the start of talks on Iranâs nuclear program in Geneva on Tuesday, the Iranian foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, referred to what he called a lesson of the terrorist attacks in the United States on Sept. 11, 2001 in an interview with NBC News.
Mr. Zarif, who negotiated Iranian intelligence assistance for American forces in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11 attacks, told NBCâs Ann Curry that in an increasingly interconnected world, âthere can be no winners and losers.â
We either lose together or win together. Thatâs the nature of global political environment. You cannot have security while others are insecure. You cannot have prosperity while others live in poverty. Probably, if anything, 9/11 should have proved that to all of us. That an island of security in an unsecure world is impossible. Security is indivisible. So we should not shoot for concessions. Either getting concessions or giving concessions.
Given that Iranâs last president, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, publicly endorsed the 9/11 conspiracy theory that âsome segments within the U.S. government orchestratedâ the terrorist attacks, Mr. Zarifâs remarks were yet another sign that the Iranian approach to the West has shifted dramatically in tone.
While the foreign minister made no reference to Israel, which has called Iranâs nuclear program an intolerable threat to its security, Israeli leaders have frequently used the metaphor of an island surrounded by hostile seas to describe their nation. Last month, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu praised the Israeli military and intelligence services for âwatching over Israel, an island of tranquillity, quiet and security,â amid âthe storm raging around us.â