Zarif:

Talks with US needs serious change in its administration

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said Donald Trump is not a “reliable negotiating partner”, and any prospect for talks first requires a serious change in the current US administration.

News ID: 72893

Date: 06 October 2018 - 11:29

Speaking to Al Jazeera host Mehdi Hasan about the US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), Iranian Foreign Minister Zarif said that "the nuclear deal is the best the United States can get, and it's the best Iran can get, and it's the best the international community can get."

"We believe it's a deal that is in the interest of the international community," he said, while reaffirming his support for the JCPOA.

"Iran has given the Europeans some time, because they asked us for some time to try to compensate for US departure from the nuclear deal," he added. "That means that Iran needs to receive the economic dividends of the deal."

Asked if Iran will ever meet with President Trump or members of his administration, Zarif responded, "we're not actually eager to meet with [US President Trump] because the United States is not a reliable negotiating partner.”

He went on to add, however, that "in politics, never say never. But I believe that there is need for a serious change in the administration.”

"They were always saying that we want a treaty with Iran. Now they just withdrew from the [1955 Treaty of Amity] that we have with the United States because the International Court of Justice ruled against them," Zarif added. "That tells you that whatever you negotiate with this president and with this administration, they're not going to be bound by it."

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