TEHRAN – Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held talks with top officials from various countries who were in Tehran to attend the inauguration ceremony for President Hassan Rouhani.

During a meeting with European Union foreign policy chief Federica Mogherini on Saturday, Zarif said that U.S. President Donald Trump’s administration seeks to deprive Iran of the benefits of the nuclear deal.

He also criticized the act by Britain, France, and Germany in releasing a joint statement against the launch of the Simorgh satellite-carrying rocket by Iran on July 27, describing it as a “move on the wrong path”.

Zarif noted that the launch of the rocket does not run contrary to the UN Resolution 2231 which endorsed the July 2015 nuclear agreement.

Mogherini reiterated that the EU supports implementation of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, the official name for the nuclear pact.

Mogherini arrived in Tehran on Friday to take part in Rouhani’s presidential swearing-in ceremony on Saturday.

Iran, the European Union, Germany and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council - the United States, Britain, France, China and Russia - finalized the text of the JCPOA in July 2015. The deal went into effect in January 2016.

Zarif calls France an important partner

In a meeting with Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne, minister of state attached to the Ministry of Europe and Foreign Affairs, Zarif said that France is an important partner of Iran in the European Union.

Lemoyne said that France is interested in expanding relations with Iran especially in economic area.

Zarif held separate meetings with Demetris Syllouris, president of the Cypriot House of Representatives; Stepan Kubiv, first vice prime minister of Ukraine; Robert Dussey, Togo’s  foreign minister; Istvan Jakab, the deputy speaker of the National Assembly of Hungary; Erlan Abdyldaev, the Kyrgyz foreign minister; and Karlheinz Kopf, Austria’s deputy parliament speaker.

NA/PA