In a late Saturday tweet, Zarif wrote “Our active diplomacy continues. Today: Addressed war vets on the 29th anniversary of freedom of our proud PoWs. Today, Iraq is top trade partner. Fruitful meeting with Japan Deputy Foreign Minister. Interview with NBC’s Lester Holt. Yemen-E4-Iran meeting in Tehran, Now in Kuwait for high-level talks.”
Zarif is slated to depart for Finland on Sunday as the first station of his European tour which also includes Sweden and Norway.
This is while the United States recently imposed sanctions on Zarif in a bid to restrict his diplomatic power.
Hossein Gharibi, an assistant to FM Zarif, tweeted that despite sanctions, US media requests for interviewing with Zarif are ‘remarkable’. He wrote on Saturday that Zarif has held an open conversation with NBC’s Lester Holt which will be aired on Tuesday. “Remarkable number of requests for interview by US media these days. FM Zarif is NOT sanctionable.”
Tehran condemned US sanctions on Zarif, saying that the measure is a continuation of Washington’s bullying behavior and further proves that Trump administration’s claims on being ready for talks with Iran are empty.
- source : Mehrnews
