Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Saturday dismissed the possibility for talks between Iranian and US officials on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly meeting in New York next month.
Asked by Tasnim News Agency on the likelihood of a meeting with US officials, including secretary of state, Mike Pompeo, Zarif said, “No such meeting is scheduled. We have announced our position on several occasions.”
President Hassan Rouhani rejected a US call for talks without preconditions last Monday, hours before Washington imposed new sanctions on Iran in line with President Donald Trump’s decision to pull out of a 2015 agreement over Iran’s nuclear program.
“About the recent offer by Trump, our official position has been announced both by the president and myself. The Americans lack honesty,” Zarif said.
He rejected media speculation that the Omani foreign minister’s recent trip to Washington and his expected visit to Tehran in the near future means the Persian Gulf country plays an intermediary role between Iran and the US.
Our relations with our neighbors are in line with routine diplomatic norms and “not because of a third country,” he said.
Zarif said earlier this week that Oman and Switzerland had acted as mediators in talks with America in the past but that currently there are no direct or indirect talks with the United States.
Stop Bullying Turkey
Earlier on Saturday, Zarif reflected on the mounting row between Turkey and the United States.
"Trump's jubilation in inflicting economic hardship on its NATO ally Turkey is shameful," he wrote on Twitter.
"The US has to rehabilitate its addiction to sanctions (and) bullying, or entire world will unite--beyond verbal condemnations--to force it to," he warned.
"We've stood with neighbors before, and will again now."
Trump said Friday he was doubling steel and aluminum tariffs on Turkey as part of an ongoing row over the detention of American pastor Andrew Brunson and other issues.
The tensions have fuelled a run on the Turkish lira, which dropped 16% to a record low on Friday, with Trump tweeting that the currency was sliding "rapidly downward against our very strong Dollar!"
Caspian Meeting
Later on the day, heading a politico-legal delegation, Zarif left for Kazakhstan to take part in a ministerial meeting of Caspian states.
The meeting will be held with participation of foreign ministers from Iran, Turkmenistan, Azerbaijan, Russia and the host country in the northwestern city of Aktau.
The fifth summit of the Caspian littoral states is slated for Sunday during which the Convention on the Legal Status of the Caspian Sea is expected to be signed.
