US must fulfill its nuclear commitments

TEHRAN, May 12 (MNA) – Foreign Minister Zarif said Iran holds the US government accountable for fulfilling its commitments under the nuclear deal. Mohammad Javad Zarif made the remarks on Monday during his joint press conference with South African counterpart Maite Nkoana-Mashabane. Zarif stressed that the Islamic Republic is following up on the negotiations with seriousness, saying it is the US government’s responsibility to coordinate with the Congress and resolve internal issues if it wishes for the negotiations to bear positive results. Iranian FM highlighted the widespread Iranian distrust of the US policies, saying the US sincere commitment to the nuclear talks could assuage the nation’s concerns. Zarif also stressed that "the Islamic Republic, under no circumstances, would yield to the excessive demands of the West and all the agreed terms to be included in the final nuclear accord are the ones already established in the statement issued in Lausanne on April 2." In regard to Iran and South Africa’s relations, Zarif maintained the two sides have discussed various points of mutual interest in the fields of politics, economy, trade, energy, oil, agriculture, science, technology and healthcare. Maintaining that the two countries would continue cooperation on counterterrorism, Zarif added “the African continent as well as our region are grappling with extremism and the way to resolve these conflicts is by no means through foreign interference.” Zarif referred to the current situation in Yemen and the Saudi’s military intervention that has led to the brutal killings of innocent people and the destruction of the county’s infrastructure, adding the world opinion, Secretary General of the United Nations and a number of countries all are demanding a stop to the military operations in Yemen. “We have close cooperation with the United Nations Secretariat and are ready to extend our help on humanitarian contributions and reaching a political solution to Yemen crisis,” he said. Saudi Arabia started its military aggression against Yemen on March 26 without a UN mandate in a bid to expand its dominance over teh oil rich geostrategic neighbor by restoring power to the fugitive former president, Abd Rabbuh Mansour Hadi, who is a staunch ally of Riyadh. According to the latest UN figures, the Saudi military campaign has so far claimed the lives of over 1,400 people and injured close to 6,000, roughly half of whom have been civilians. Iran has dispatched a cargo ship carrying humanitarian aids for the impoverished Arab country on Sunday.