In an interview of the New Yorker, Mohammad Javad Zarif rejected suggestions by the Trump Administration that the nuclear deal be renegotiated; “reopening these negotiations would be extremely dangerous because now we all go into any possible negotiations with even higher expectations,” he noted.
“It was complicated enough to reach this deal already, and it would be impossible to reach another deal.”
Zarif said that he does not rule out talks with the Trump Administration. U.S. and Iranian technical experts still meet on compliance; they will do so later this week, in Vienna. “We’re not opposed to the possibility of a meeting between us and Secretary Tillerson if it is necessary for the implementation of the nuclear deal,” underlined Zarif.
He later added “if we succeed in seeing good faith on the part of the US in the implementation of the nuclear deal, then it would be a foundation and not the ceiling. And it would be possible to engage in other areas. We haven’t seen that yet.”
He added, “I haven’t asked for a meeting, and I don’t think I will.”
Like other nations that are party to the deal, Iran is confused about Trump’s strategy—and whether he wants to scrap the deal altogether, renegotiate, or try to apply so many punitive measures that Tehran will be tempted to walk away from the deal on its own. “It’s not clear what the Administration is planning to do,” said Zarif adding “I think now they have come to the realization that scrapping the deal is not something that would be globally welcomed.”
The implications extend to diplomacy well beyond the nuclear deal, he warned. “The message the United States is sending to the rest of the world is that you cannot count on the US being committed to its international undertakings. So, not only is that a bad signal to Iran but also a bad signal to anybody else, whoever contemplates talking to the US or negotiating with the US.”
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