In an exclusive interview with IRNA in Moscow, Zarif responded to a question of whether appointing Robert Malley as the US special envoy on Iran affairs will affect Tehran-Washington tensions, stressing that individuals are not the important factors in the new US administration.
Robert Malley had participated in nuclear talks and is like other members of the Biden team, but the Biden administration’s behavior in practical terms in the lifting sanctions which had been imposed by the ex-US President Donald Trump is of importance for us.
If Iran witnesses such behavior, it will certainly react to it, he added.
Trump pulled out of Iran's nuclear deal in 2018 and imposed sanctions on Iran, he said, adding that the US had also punished those countries which were committed to the JCPOA.
Iran waited for one year trying to make European parties implement JCPOA and only then announced that it tends to reduce its commitments in 2019, the Foreign Minister said.
He went on to stress that, unfortunately, European countries were not able to abide by their commitments, he noted.
If the US stops sanctions and interference in Iran’s economic cooperation with the world, Tehran will return to its commitments under the JCPOA, Zarif said.
The Iranian foreign minister arrived in Moscow on Tuesday at the second leg of his regional tour to the Republic of Azerbaijan, Russia, Turkey, Georgia and Armenia to discuss issues of mutual interest with Russian officials. He left Moscow for Yerevan on Tuesday night.
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