In a short video uploaded from Zarif’s interview with the visiting USA TODAY correspondent on the American daily website, the Iranian foreign minister said “while mutual trust is not a requirement to start negotiations, mutual respect is a requirement.”
“We reached an agreement with the US, not a two-page agreement, but a 150-page agreement," referring to US' agreement with North Korea, and then the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, dubbed JCPOA. "And the United States decided to walk away from it. It wasn’t our fault that the US is not a reliable negotiating partner. It’s a problem that the international community is facing,” he added.
“I thought that we could create a different example, to put aside the past. Unfortunately, this administration proved that impossible,” said Zarif.
Upon the interviewer's persistence that Iran is waiting for a different administration in the US to start negotiations, Zarif said “we need a different approach, we don’t need an administration that has a different approach. I believe that human beings are able to change. This administration can have a different approach.”
“We are willing to wait out this approach,” said Zarif. “The Trump administration can change its approach. We don’t interfere in the domestic politics of the US. It’s up to the Americans to decide who they want to have to elect as their leader. We want to see a different approach. We don’t care about who is behind that approach.”
The American daily claimed that Zarif signaled a willingness to re-engage with the US on talks if there are sufficient “foundations for a fruitful dialogue.”
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