Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif does not rule out the possibility of negotiations with the United States even after the assassination of Iranian general Kassem Soleimani if Washington changes course and lifts sanctions against Tehran, German magazine Spiegel reports.
“No, I never rule out the possibility that people will change their approach and recognize reality. For us it does not matter who is sitting in the White House. It is important how they behave. The Trump administration can correct its past, lift sanctions and return to the table negotiations. We are still at the negotiating table. They are the ones who are left”, – Zarif said in an interview with the publication, answering the question whether he excludes the possibility of negotiations with the United States after the Soleimani murder.
In 2018, the United States unilaterally withdrew from a nuclear deal with Iran and reintroduced sanctions against Tehran. Presidential Administration Donald Trump announced the need to reduce Iranian oil exports to zero and imposed sanctions against violators of the current sanctions regime.
The US-Iran relations have further escalated after the death of Iranian General Kassem Suleimani in Iraq in early January as a result of an American special operation. Iran in response fired missiles at bases in Iraq, where the US military is located. According to the Pentagon, 34 US troops were hit by shelling.