In remarks to the Munich Security Conference, Foreign Minister Javad Zarif declared that Iran has "long been the target of an unhealthy fixation - an obsession" for the U.S., adding that "in the past two years, the U.S. has taken its animus towards Iran to a new extreme". "More and more nations", he suggested, "are becoming explicit about the fact that the U.S. is now the single biggest source of destabilisation in our neighbourhood". Zarif went on to say that "while we have shown our desire for engagement, we won't depend on others for our security, stability, prosperity and progress... that is why 40 years of so-called 'maximum pressure'... has failed to 'being Iran to its knees', nor has it affected our people's decision-making calculus".