- Title: US should honour nuclear deal if it wants talks - Iran foreign minister
- Date: 29th August 2019
- Summary: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA (AUGUST 29, 2019) (REUTERS) ***WARNING: CONTAINS FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF SHAKING HANDS WITH INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES CHAIRMAN HASHIM/ HASHIM GESTURING AND WALKING AWAY (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, SAYING: REPORTER ASKING: "Sir, regarding the talks with the U.S., so is there not a chance of it happening? And at all is there, do you intransigence on the part of the U.S.? ZARIF: "Well, the United States is engaged in an economic war against the Iranian people and it won't be possible for us to engage with the United States unless they stop imposing a war and engaging in economic terrorism against the Iranian people. We spoke to the United States. We spoke at length with the United States, we reached an agreement, and they need to implement the agreement we had reached before they can expect to have more talks." REPORTERS (SOUNDBITE) (English) IRANIAN FOREIGN MINISTER MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF, SAYING: REPORTER ASKING: "What kind of conditions are required in order for Iran to go back, to meet with the U.S.?" ZARIF: "As I said, we have an agreement. We don't want to meet for the sake of meeting. We need to meet if there is any result. We already met, we have an agreement. If they want to move further, they need to implement the agreement that is not just an agreement between Iran in the U.S., it's a Security Council resolution." POWERPOINT PROJECTION READING (English): "COMMON SECURITY IN THE ISLAMIC WORLD BY MOHAMMAD JAVAD ZARIF FOREIGN AFFAIRS MINISTER IRAN" ZARIF TAKING SEAT FORUM IN PROGRESS VARIOUS OF ZARIF SPEAKING AT FORUM VARIOUS OF ATTENDEES SEATED EXTERIOR OF INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES SIGN READING (English): "INSTITUTE OF STRATEGIC AND INTERNATIONAL STUDIES (ISIS MALAYSIA)"
- Embargoed: 12th September 2019 08:10
- Keywords: Malaysia Iran Foreign Minister Muhammad Javid Zarif United States
- Location: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
- City: KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA
- Country: Malaysia
- Reuters ID: LVA001AU9RHVR
- Aspect Ratio: 16:9
- Story Text:Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Thursday (August 29) the United States must observe the 2015 nuclear deal and stop engaging in "economic terrorism" against the Iranian people if Washington wants to meet for talks.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have risen since U.S. President Donald Trump's administration last year quit an international deal to curb Iran's nuclear ambitions and began to ratchet up sanctions.
"The United States is engaged in an economic war against the Iranian people and it won't be possible for us to engage with the United States unless they stop imposing a war and engaging in economic terrorism against the Iranian people," Zarif told reporters in Kuala Lumpur after addressing a forum on security in the Islamic world.
Trump said this week he would meet Iranian President Hassan Rouhani under the right circumstances to end the confrontation over the 2015 deal and that talks were underway to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran's economy afloat. Rouhani has said Iran would not talk to the United States until all sanctions were lifted.
In an off-camera comment, Zarif also said Iran will fast track legal action against a British oil tanker that Tehran seized last month in the Strait of Hormuz.
The UK-flagged Stena Impero was diverted to an Iranian port on July 19, two weeks after Britain detained an Iranian tanker off the territory of Gibraltar.
(Production: Danny Lau, Joseph Campbell) - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
- Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2019. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
- Usage Terms/Restrictions: None