Bilateral Meeting for ‘Trump Deal’ Wishful Thinking: Iran’s FM

TEHRAN (defapress) – Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif described US President Donald Trump’s “lust” for bilateral talks with Tehran to reach a “Trump deal” as wishful thinking.

News ID: 80023

Date: 27 January 2020 - 11:24

“@realDonaldTrump is still dreaming about a bilateral meeting—to satisfy HIS lust for a "Trump deal". It’s wishful thinking. The only possible venue for talks is at the P5+1 table—which HE left—reverting to pre-2017, AND compensating Iran for damages,” Zarif wrote in a Twitter post late Sunday night.

The tweet followed an earlier post by Iran’s top diplomat, mocking Trump for purportedly rejecting what he falsely interpreted as Zarif’s call for bilateral talks with Washington if the brutal US sanctions against Iran are lifted.

He urged Trump to base his foreign policy decisions on “facts” rather than biased news headlines of his favorite right-wing Fox News TV outlet, or his Farsi translators.

In May 2018, Trump pulled his country out of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

Iran and the remaining parties launched talks to save the JCPOA after the US withdrawal, but the three EU parties to the deal have failed to ensure Iran’s economic interests.

The EU’s inaction forced Tehran to stop honoring certain commitments to the nuclear deal.

Iran maintains that the new measures are not designed to harm the JCPOA but to save the accord by creating a balance in the commitments.

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