The US think tank is under pressure from the Trump administration and its allies in Congress for hosting Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an upcoming virtual event next Tuesday, Free Beacon reported.
They claimed that based on US law, providing any sort of service to those under the sanctions including Zarif is prohibited.
In this regard, in an interview with Free Beacon, US State Department Spokesperson Morgan Ortagus accused Iran of human rights crimes and claimed that no country or organization should give Zarif a platform and that the Iranian government only deserves isolation.
It should be noted that the Council on Foreign Relations and Zoom Company will be exposed to sanctions under US law.
A spokesman for the Council on Foreign Relations said the agency had followed all instructions from the US Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Assets Control, and that the invitation did not imply endorsement of Zarif’s policies or arguments.
The upcoming event is focused on Trump's unilateral withdrawal from JCPOA and its diplomatic consequences for Iran and the region.
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