Zarif: Iran, US Not Engaged in Any Negotiations

Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says there are no talks underway between Iran and the United States, reminding how Washington has proven to be an untrustworthy negotiation partner.

“The Americans proved that one cannot rely on the results of talks with them,” Zarif told the Islamic Republic of Iran Broadcasting’s news agency, IRIB News.

Asked about remarks by some analysts pointing to the notion of talks between Tehran and Washington, the top diplomat said, “Almost the entire world has come to this conclusion that if it should seek any negotiation with the US, Washington could ignore the [ensuing] agreement any time,” the agency reported on its website on Tuesday.

The US has turned its back on several international agreements under its current administration that is helmed by President Donald Trump. The forsaken deals include a 2015 nuclear accord between Iran and world powers.

Washington quit the historic deal in May 2018 and began reinforcing the sanctions that it had lifted. Both the moves defied a UN Security Council resolution that had endorsed the agreement, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Washington has refused to relieve the bans despite international calls for the easing of the restrictions as the entire world is busy battling a new coronavirus pandemic.

Although it is no longer a JCPOA partner, Trump’s administration has also expressed a resolve to prompt extension of a UN arms embargo against the Islamic Republic that would expire under the deal by October.

Zarif said the current US administration should rather rectify its attitude than “to come up with excuses.”

Source: Press TV