MUNICH — Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Sunday called on the European Union to do more to keep their nuclear deal alive in the face of fierce opposition and trade sanctions from the Trump administration.

While the Europeans and Tehran are allies on the nuclear deal, a series of assertive comments by Zarif at the annual Munich Security Conference of global leaders made clear that Iran and the EU do not see eye to eye on a number of contentious issues.

“Europe needs to be willing to get wet if it wants to swim against the dangerous tide of U.S. unilateralism,” Zarif told the conference.

Zarif also had strong words for the United States, declaring that Washington had an "unhealthy fixation" with Iran and had never forgiven the country for overthrowing a pro-U.S. government in its 1979 revolution. He dismissed calls by U.S. Vice President Mike Pence for the EU to ditch the nuclear accord as a "farce."

“I think the U.S. administration is not doing anything but regime change," he said of Washington's policy toward Iran. "These guys have had the illusion that Iran would evaporate for 40 years. But we are still here.”

“Does Iran have to simply lie dead simply because some people don’t want us to be able to defend ourselves?” — Mohammad Javad Zarif

But he also railed against Europeans, taking issue with criticism of Iranian missile activity and allegations of attacks against individuals by Iran on European soil. Going back in history, he recalled European countries had armed Iraq when it was at war with Iran in the 1980s.

“Does Iran have to simply lie dead simply because some people don’t want us to be able to defend ourselves?” he said of criticism of its development of missiles.

On the nuclear deal, from which Trump's withdrew last year, Zarif said a so-called special purpose vehicle set up by the EU to allow European countries to keep trading with Iran despite U.S. sanctions fell short of what Europeans had promised.

In a clear message to European powers, he said domestic support for the deal was fragile — with 51 percent of Iranians in favor, according to an opinion poll.

Asked how long the deal could survive, he replied: “I don’t know.”

“We derive our security from our people so it is very important to us to keep the people satisfied with what we’re doing,” Zarif said.

"It is in our interest to stay in the deal, but it is also in the interest of Europe to stay in the deal. But it [Europe] hasn’t been prepared to make an investment, to pay a price," he said.

Earlier this month, the Council of the EU issued written conclusions, which expressed concern about Tehran's role in Syria, its missile use and "hostile activities that Iran has conducted on the territory of several Member States."

The Netherlands, France and Denmark have accused Teheran of plotting attacks in Europe over the past year.

The Dutch government alleges that Iran organised two assassinations of Dutch-Iranian activists in 2015 and 2017. Denmark has said it foiled a Teheran-led plot to kill an Arab-Iranian opposition figure on its soil last year. France suspects Iran behind a failed attack on a rally of an exiled Iranian dissident group near Paris in 2018. Iran denies any involvement in the plots.

"Give us some credit" — Mohammad Javad Zarif

Zarif said EU sanctions imposed on two Iranian individuals and an organization over the incidents were “sanctions based on allegations, not based on fact.”

He noted the arrest in one case took place around the time that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani arrived on a visit to Europe last year.

“Do you think me crazy? That we do this on that day? At least we’d do it a day before, or after, 10 days after. Give us some credit,” he said.

“It could be a false flag operation, entrapment, rogue operation, but it is not the work of a government that you should call crazy if we did it.”