Zarif to US: Honor Terms of Nuke Deal if You Want Talks

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says Washington should adhere to the parameters of a 2015 deal aimed at blocking Tehran’s nuclear ambitions if there is to be a summit meeting between the two countries, something US President Donald Trump says he’s open to. The deal called for lifting heavy economic sanctions against the Islamic Republic as part of a package that saw it promise in turn to stop enriching uranium and refrain from creating a nuclear arsenal. “The United States is engaged in an economic war against the Iranian people and it won’t be possible for us to engage with the United States unless they stop imposing a war and engaging in economic terrorism against the Iranian people,” Zarif said. His comments, made to the press in Kuala Lumpur on Thursday, echo those of Iranian President Hassan Rouhani, who said on Tuesday that sanctions reinstated by President Trump after he withdrew the US from the unilateral deal last year would have to be cancelled before any summit. For its part, Iran has begun enriching uranium beyond the maximum levels stipulated by the 2015 deal and says it will move to even higher levels starting on September 6.