Zarif: West’s excessive demands an obstacle to reach agreement

Iran top diplomat describes the West's excessive demands as a stumbling block to clinching a final nuclear deal.

Former French Prime Minister Dominique De Villepin, who is in Tehran, conferred with Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif on Monday.

According to the Media Department of the Foreign Ministry, in the meeting, Zarif said that the latest round of nuclear talks has reached a sensitive phase and Iran has offered different proposals.

He underlined that it is time for the other side to show its intention to reach an agreement.

Zarif stressed that, unfortunately, excessive demands of certain members of the Group 5+1 have created an obstacle in the way of clinching of an agreement.

Referring to bilateral relations between Iran and France, Zarif said that these ties could be expanded in different fields.

Concerning developments in Syria, Zarif underlined that Syrian issue has no military solution and it could be solved through political means.

He added that in every solution, the role of Syrian people and government should be considered and those who wanted to remove Syrian government should know that if that ever happens, ISIL will substitute it.

De Villepin, for his part, called a final agreement between Iran and Group 5+1 in nuclear issue ‘very important’, and underlined conclusion of a final agreement will affect the whole Middle East.

He stressed that West is partly to blame for expansion of radicalism in the Middle East and now is very worried that youths from Western countries are fighting for ISIL.

Emad Askarieh

Emad Askarieh has worked as a journalist since 2002. The main focus of his work is foreign policy and world diplomacy. He started his career at Iran Front Page Media Group, and is currently serving as the World Editor and the Vice-President for Executive Affairs at the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website.