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Zarif: Iran sees 'mostly negative signals' from US

Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in an interview with Al-Monitor, confirmed brief bilateral exchanges with Saudi counterparts and said numerous disagreements remain inside the international Syria support group on a political transition.
United States Secretary of State John Kerry (L) meets with Mohammad Javad Zarif,  Minister of Foreign Affairs of Iran, at the United Nations in New York, September 26, 2015. REUTERS/Stephanie Keith      TPX IMAGES OF THE DAY      - RTX1SNOV
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New York — Iran’s Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, speaking to Al-Monitor in New York following a UN Security Council meeting on Syria Dec. 18, said it remains to be seen if US-Iran relations would ease in the wake of the implementation of the Iran nuclear deal as early as next month. But he said Iran was disturbed by recent proposed changes to the US visa waiver program that could require European travelers who had visited Iran to apply for a visa to travel to the United States, and he had been discussing the matter with US Secretary of State John Kerry.

“We will have to wait and see,” Zarif told Al-Monitor in an interview at Iran’s ambassadorial residence in New York on Dec. 18, regarding whether US-Iran ties would ease up a bit after the United States lifts sanctions when the Iran nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), is implemented as early as January.

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