Wednesday 19 February 2020 - 19:59
Story Code : 370642
Irans FM says his meeting with US senator spooked Trump
Mohammad Javad Zarif met last week with Sen. Chris Murphy on the sidelines of an international security conference in Germany. The Connecticut Democrat defended the meeting on Tuesday after his actions were questioned in conservative media, and as President Donald Trump suggested they may have violated U.S. law. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said he hoped anyone who meets with Zarif would be reflecting the U.S. position with Iran.
Trump and Pompeo are afraid of a senator hearing facts from the Iranian foreign minister, Zarif said, speaking to reporters after a weekly cabinet meeting. He said this wasnt his first face-to-face chat with an American lawmaker in the last 20 years. It was not immediately clear which senators hed met with.
Murphy said meeting Zarif was important because it is dangerous not to talk to ones enemies, adding: I have no delusions about Iran they are our adversary.
Tehran and Washington came close to an open conflict in January, when a U.S. drone strike in Iraq killed Irans top general. Iran retaliated with missile strikes on a base housing U.S. troops in Iraq.
Tensions have been escalating steadily since 2018, when Trump pulled the U.S. out of Tehrans nuclear deal with world powers. The Trump administration reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran as part of its maximum pressure campaign on the Islamic republic.
On hearing of Saturdays meeting, Trump said it sounded as though Murphy had violated an obscure, little-used federal law known as the Logan Act, which bars private citizens from conducting official diplomacy.
Pompeo said the U.S. has long designated Iran a state sponsor of terrorism, and pointed out Irans recent accidental shootdown of a Ukrainian passenger jet over Tehran. Pompeo has criticized other Americans for meeting with Zarif, including his immediate predecessor, John Kerry.
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