IRNA - Iranian foreign minister said about the necessity of Iran joining the Paris climate agreement that what is important to the Islamic Republic of Iran on this international issue and can affect Iran's interests is an active presence in this regard.

'We have goals set by the Supreme Leader of the revolution and in the Sixth Development Plan to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions, which are more serious and firmer than Iran's goals and commitment to the Paris Convention,' Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Wednesday.

'The difference between Iran and America is about the degree of commitments, and the degree of obligations we have in the present Convention, is less than the obligations we have obliged ourselves inside the country,' the Iranian foreign minister recalled.

In reply to a question concerning the review of the Convention against Financing of Terrorism (CFT) bill at the Parliament, he said, 'What I know is that some of the objections of the Guardian Council were corrected after reviewing this matter in the National Security Commission and with the help of the Guardian Council, and correction of these objections was approved by Parliament.”

Iranian Foreign Minister noted, 'In some cases the Guardian Council's objections to the international agreements go to the Expediency Council, in this case the parliament decided to submit it with insistence on its issue to the Expediency Council.'

'The Guardian Council's main objection was about the definition of terrorist acts that I think will be resolved with the reform that took place by the parliament,' Zarif added.

Regarding the review of relations with the countries accompanying the United States in anti-JCPOA policy, he said, 'We have never forced any country to do anything against its national interests.'

Zarif underlined, 'The countries have interests, but have a larger interest and that international laws and international rules are not subject to a claim or a pressure from one of the powers”.

'The Iranian market is a very desirable market for most countries, and we believe that this move will ultimately benefit us with the policy adopted by the Islamic Republic and with the isolation imposed on America,' he noted, adding that this is a decision the countries must make.

'In the end, after a transitional period and transition from this American pressure, the countries will understand and operate based on their interests,' he stressed.

In response to a question about the sanction of Iran by some countries in the missile debate and Iran's insistence on expanding the industry, the foreign minister said, 'We have always stressed our defense power and we have announced that our defense power is not a matter of negotiation, and in this context we will continue the policy of the Islamic Republic.”

'Of course our policy is deterrence and defensive, not aggressive policy; our history also represents the fact,' Zarif pointed out.

He went on to say, 'The countries that comment on the defensive power of the Islamic Republic of Iran are those countries that decanted billions of dollars in weapons to our region and caused insecurity in the region.”

The foreign minister affirmed that these countries that sent the weapons to the region cannot want a great, independent country like Iran that must not have its own defense tool.