Iran Is Committed To Geneva Deal : FM

Tehran, Feb 5, IRNA – Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif in an interview reiterated that Tehran is fully committed to the Geneva deal reached between Iran and 5+1 on November 24. ˈWe are actually sticking to the letter of the agreement. That’s why we didn’t produce any fact sheets. We believe it is important for us to use this opportunity to build confidence,ˈ said Zarif in an interview with euronews. Zarif further stressed that anti-Iran sanctions are illegal. ˈThe agreement is very clear. There are certain parts of the Iranian nuclear program that will continue; there are certain parts that … I mean.. the enrichment over five percent, that we have agreed not to continue,” said Zarif when asked about the deal. Asked why there are ˈhoo-haˈ for internal consumption, the Iranian foreign minister responded “I have tried to remain very true to what we agreed and not to try to ‘spin’ it for domestic consumption, that is why I didn’t produce any fact sheets. It wasn’t an attempt by Iran to win at the expense of the other side because we believe that is not sustainable.ˈ As to receiving parts of Iranian assets frozen by the US, Zarif said “There are sanctions relief. Of course we did not believe from the beginning that these sanctions were legal, because this is our money and there is no international legal instrument that would prevent us from having access to our money.ˈ On Syria, Zarif said, ˈWe don’t have a military presence (there).ˈ The Syrian government is recognized by the United Nations, has a seat in the UN and Iran has long-standing relations with it, he noted. ˈI believe those who are supporting terrorist groups that are on the UN list of terrorist organizations, should be accountable for the support – the money, the arms – that they are providing to those terrorist organizations. ˈI don’t see any law against having relations with Syria but Iran does not have armed forces in Syria.” The interview was released by euronews on Tuesday./end