FM: US Sanctions Worsening Present Situation

Brussels, Sept 2, IRNA – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said that the latest US sanctions against Iran would deteriorate the situation for Iranˈs nuclear talks with the Group 5+1. On August 29, the white House declared new sanctions on a group of individuals and firms for what it claimed to be helping Iran overpass the sanctions or contacts with the firms, institutes and individuals who have earlier been sanctioned. The move was condemned by senior Iranian officials who termed it a ˈbreachˈ to the previously made Joint Plan of Action signed by Iran and the Group 5+1 in Geneva, Switzerland, on November 2013. Zarif, currently in the Belgian capital, has held separate meetings with Chairman of the European Parliament Committee on Foreign Affairs Elmar Brok, President of the European Parliament Martin Schulz and Belgian Foreign Minister Didier Reynders. He has also met with former EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton who has newly been replaced by Italian Foreign Minister Federica Mogherini. At the end of his visit to Belgium, Zarif is to visit Luxemburg and Italy where he will meet with Ashtonˈs successor Mogherini. Speaking to his Belgian counterpart, Reynders, the Iranian minister discussed major bilateral, regional and international developments including the present situation in Iraq, Syria and Ukraine. The two also stressed the need to help restore stability and security in Iraq and fight against terrorism and extremism in the region. Meanwhile, in his meeting with Schulz, president of the European Parliament, Zarif stressed the need for parliamentary cooperation between the two sides to eliminate extremism and terrorism. Referring to terrorism as a ˈserious threatˈ against global peace, Zarif called all nations to stop supporting terrorist groups. Referring to the resolution World Against Violence and Extremism (WAVE) which was approved by the United Nation in 2013 upon a proposal by President Hassan Rouhani of Iran, Zarif said the proposal could be used as the basis for a collective task at the international level to create a world free from violence. On December 18, 2013, President Rouhani’s proposal was overwhelmingly ratified at the UN General Assembly with 190 votes. The Act calls on all nations across the globe to denounce violence and extremism. President Rouhani had made the proposal in an address to the UN Disarmament Conference in New York on September 25, 2013. Schulz told Zarif, in return, that Iran has so far played a constructive role in dealing with major regional crises. He called for further parliamentary relations between Iran and the EU. In another development, Zarif met Brok, from the EU Parliament. The two discussed Iranˈs nuclear standoff with the West, human rights issues and Iran-EU relations./end