Meeting between Tillerson and Zarif at the 1+5 Ministers' Summit

The Iranian Foreign Minister and the U.S. Secretary of State under Donald Trump participated together for the first time since the new administration took office in a meeting of senior diplomats from the 1+5 countries. Rex Tillerson shared details with reporters after the meeting, while Mohammad Javad Zarif gave an interview to official media of the Islamic Republic. Reuters reported, citing European diplomats, that the foreign ministers of Iran and the U.S. had a 'very tough' meeting and a 'long' discussion. Donald Trump and his administration have sharply criticized the nuclear agreement made by the previous administration of their country with Iran and Russia, France, Britain, Germany, and China. Trump called the agreement 'a source of shame,' and Tillerson stated that if the U.S. government is to adhere to it, changes must be made. The 1+5 ministers' meeting and the senior European foreign policy official had already attracted significant attention. After the meeting, U.S. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson told reporters that the parties, including Mohammad Javad Zarif, had discussions focused on the realities and approaches, but Washington still has 'significant issues' with the nuclear agreement. Tillerson said: 'It was a good opportunity to meet and shake hands. The tone of the discussions was about the facts. There was no shouting. We did not throw shoes at each other.' He added that 'the tone was not at all tense,' and the parties discussed the essence of events and their differing viewpoints and approaches. Tillerson also stated that from the perspective of the U.S. President, the 'sunset' provisions in the nuclear agreement are an 'unacceptable' issue. The U.S. Secretary of State referred to the obstacles Iran will face until 2025, which will gradually be removed. This position was also mentioned in Tillerson's remarks the previous day. Senior French officials, including the President and Foreign Minister, have also called for a focus on efforts to preserve the nuclear agreement after the so-called 'sunset' period. The U.S. Secretary of State emphasized that his administration seeks negotiations on this matter and is 'optimistic' that Iran, despite President Hassan Rouhani's statements about the non-negotiability of the JCPOA, will agree to such negotiations. Tillerson said, 'Never say never!' Just hours before this meeting, the President of Iran stated in a press conference in New York that the nuclear agreement with the six world powers is an international agreement and is not subject to renegotiation. Rex Tillerson told reporters that the parties to the nuclear agreement were also looking forward to creating a more stable and calmer situation in the Middle East, but this has not happened, and Iran has supported Bashar al-Assad's regime, continued its ballistic missile tests in violation of UN Security Council resolutions, and sent weapons to Yemen, Syria, and Iraq. Iran claims it is present in Syria at the request of the Syrian government, which has official representation at the UN, to combat what it calls 'terrorist groups.' Iran asserts that its missile tests are not in violation of the resolution and are defensive in nature, and it is not seeking to develop nuclear weapons that would turn these missiles into ones capable of carrying nuclear warheads. Iran denies interference in the affairs of regional countries. Iranian officials do not hide their military presence and supported militias in countries like Syria and Iraq. The U.S. Secretary of State stated that Washington has asked its allies to understand its concerns; that Iran has acted contrary to the 'spirit' of the JCPOA and that this issue is not a violation of the 'JCPOA,' and they should convey this to Iran. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif also participated in an interview with official media after his meeting with Rex Tillerson. According to IRNA, Zarif stated that 'the Islamic Republic has discussed the violations that have been raised by the United States since the implementation of the JCPOA, especially during the new U.S. administration, such as statements made by U.S. officials that we consider inappropriate, and for the regulations of the JCPOA, some of which can be interpreted as violations of Articles 26, 28, and 29 of the JCPOA.' The text released by the Iranian Foreign Ministry regarding the provisions of the JCPOA refers to Articles 26, 28, and 29, which include references to the lack of 'hostile and direct influence' on the normalization of economic relations with Iran, the implementation of the JCPOA in a 'constructive atmosphere,' and that the U.S. government 'will refrain from re-imposing the specified sanctions as outlined in Annex 2' and 'will refrain from imposing new nuclear sanctions within the framework of the legal powers of the President and Congress.' The Iranian Foreign Minister emphasized that from Tehran's perspective, the United States has not fulfilled its commitments and that the statements made by senior officials of that country, including Donald Trump's speech, 'indicate the distance of the United States from the realities of the international community, which we once again closely observed today.' Although the U.S. government claims Tehran is acting against the spirit of the JCPOA, it has so far confirmed Iran's compliance with the provisions of the JCPOA and suspended related sanctions. Meanwhile, European officials, including the EU's senior diplomat, Federica Mogherini, have emphasized that 'all parties' have so far adhered to the JCPOA. The EU's chief foreign policy official stated after similar statements from Iranian officials regarding violations of commitments by Western powers in August that 'all parties [to the nuclear agreement] have so far fulfilled their obligations under the established agreement.' In part of his interview, Mohammad Javad Zarif stated that the meeting of the parties was an informal session in which there was no need for decision-making. He reminded that this was the second meeting at the ministerial level of the parties to the nuclear talks since the agreement was reached. IRNA reports that this was Zarif's response regarding 'the continuation of these meetings.' No further details have been released. Reuters reported, citing a European diplomat, that 'Zarif and Tillerson had a long discussion. No surprising issues were raised in the positions of the parties.' The diplomat stated that the parties agreed that commitments related to the nuclear agreement have been fulfilled, but the negotiations were not actually focused on its implementation.