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Tehran 19 February _Iran's Foreign Ministry has said that a recent meeting between Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and an American senator in Munich took place within the framework of Iran’s “general diplomacy.”
TEHRAN, Young Journalists Club(YJC)-The ministry's spokesman Abbas Mousavi posted a tweet on Tuesday to comment on a Saturday meeting on the sidelines of the Munich Security Conference between Zarif and a delegation of Democratic congressmen headed by Connecticut’s Senator Chris Murphy.
“Zarif has always said that he would meet with some members of the US Congress, who would ask to meet him, and detail the Islamic Republic of Iran’s vantage points and the realities of the region,” Mousavi explained.
“These measures are part of [Iran’s] general diplomacy, which includes meetings with elites and think tanks as well as interviews and briefings with press representatives,” the spokesman elaborated.
On Sunday, Zarif posted a tweet incorporating pictures of his meetings with foreign officials that took place on the sidelines of the conference, during which he engaged in “advancing the cause of peace and de-escalation in our region and beyond.”
Wrapping up three days in Munich, where I met with my counterparts from across the globe, as well as many other officials, think tanks, NGOs and media representatives on the sidelines of the @MunSecConf. Advancing the cause of peace and de-escalation in our region and beyond. pic.twitter.com/fWgZM5MceL
— Javad Zarif (@JZarif) February 16, 2020
US President Donald Trump, who has been enacting a policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran, however, came out critical of the meeting, while Secretary of State Mike Pompeo questioned Murphy’s motives.
Trump said Tuesday, “Is there anything that I should know? Because that sounds like to me a violation of the Logan Act,” referring to an obscure, little-used federal law that prevents “unauthorized American citizens” from negotiations with foreign governments having a dispute with the US.
“They ought to find out about that if it’s true,” Trump added.
In turn, Pomepo said, “If they met, I don’t know what they said…I hope they were reinforcing America’s foreign policy and not their own.”
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