US President Donald Trump tweeted on Sunday that he will not accept Zarif’s proposal that the two countries start negotiations after US lifts its sanctions on Iran.
Zarif, however, struck back that Donald Trump is better advised to base his policies on “facts” rather than on “Fox News headlines or his Persian translators.”
Asked in an interview with Der Spiegel on Saturday whether Iran is still willing to negotiate with the US even after the latter assassinated Iranian General Qassem Soleimani, Zarif had said, “I never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach and recognize the realities. For us, it doesn’t matter who is sitting in the White House. What matters is how they behave. The Trump administration can correct its past, lift the sanctions and come back to the negotiating table. We’re still at the negotiating table. They’re the ones who left. The US has inflicted great harm on the Iranian people. The day will come when they will have to compensate for that. We have a lot of patience.”
In reaction to Zarif’s comments, Trump tweeted that “Iranian Foreign Minister says Iran wants to negotiate with The United States, but wants sanctions removed. @FoxNews @OANN No Thanks!”
But a few hours later, Zarif hit back, “@realdonaldtrump is better advised to base his foreign policy comments & decisions on facts, rather than @FoxNews headlines or his Farsi translators.”
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have been intensifying since 2018, when Donald Trump withdrew the US from JCPOA, and re-imposed severe sanctions on Iran economy.
