Swiss Foreign Minister Hails ‘Fruitful’ Talks in Iran
TEHRAN (Dispatches) -- Switzerland’s Foreign Minister Ignazio Cassis said he had "fruitful” talks on Monday with his Iranian counterpart Muhammad Javad Zarif regarding "peace, economic development and human rights.”
The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles U.S. interests in Iran, since ties were cut in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Cassis was expected to meet President Hassan Rouhani as part of a three-day visit to Tehran, celebrating a century of relations between Switzerland and Iran.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated since 2018, after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from an international nuclear agreement and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran.
"Peace, economic development and human rights - fruitful discussion with my counterpart,” Cassis wrote on Twitter following the talks.
Switzerland has also played a major role in prisoner swaps between Tehran and Washington.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Secretary Mike Pompeo had a phone call with Cassis before his Tehran visit, raising speculation the visit involved talks on Tehran-Washington relations.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denied the "speculations” on Monday, saying it was a planned visit delayed over the novel coronavirus outbreak and "not related to Iran and the U.S”.
"I’m glad we could establish together the Swiss Humanitarian Channel for the transfer of food and medical supplies to the people of Iran,” Cassis said on Twitter.
Known by its acronym SHTA, the Swiss channel is a payment mechanism aimed to enable food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to be sent to Iran without breaking U.S. sanctions.
Humanitarian goods are theoretically exempt from sanctions, but international purchases of such supplies are almost impossible since banks are wary of falling foul of the U.S. over doing business with Iran.
The channel was established and conducted its first transaction earlier this year.
Khatibzadeh cited the U.S. pressure that delayed Switzerland’s setting up of the financial channel for 20 months.
He also pointed to Washington’s attempt to sway the International Atomic Energy Agency’s opinion about Tehran by contacting the UN nuclear agency’s Director-General Rafael Grossi before his recent visit to the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian official was asked about reported efforts by the United Arab Emirates and the occupying regime of Israel to set up an espionage center targeting the Islamic Republic.
He said Emirati officials were busy perpetrating two types of strategic mistake by trying to endear themselves to the Zionist regime and its biggest ally, the U.S.
The first type, he said, was a "cognitive” mistake about the UAE’s standing in the region and the world on the one hand and the U.S. and Israel’s position across the international community on the other. The second mistake that has afflicted the UAE’s calculations is Abu Dhabi trying to "buy security” from extra-regional sources, the spokesman added.
"We have witnessed these types of mistakes a lot in this region,” Khatibzadeh said, adding former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein made the same mistake by waging a war on the Islamic Republic for eight years in the 1980s.
The spokesman hoped that the Emirates would make up for its mistakes, warning that "Iran does not joke with anyone when it comes to the issue of its national security.”
The Iranian official, meanwhile, referred to a recent U.S.-brokered deal between Kosovo and Serbia, as part of which Washington demanded the former to likewise set up ties with the occupying regime of Israel and the latter to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy occupied city of Jerusalem Al-Quds.
Khatibzadeh called the pressure exerted on the two Balkan countries a "heinous election” ploy by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Disproportionate Response
The spokesman also said Iran will give a proportionate response if signatories to the Iran nuclear deal,
The Swiss embassy in Tehran handles U.S. interests in Iran, since ties were cut in the aftermath of the 1979 Islamic Revolution.
Cassis was expected to meet President Hassan Rouhani as part of a three-day visit to Tehran, celebrating a century of relations between Switzerland and Iran.
Tensions between Iran and the U.S. have escalated since 2018, after President Donald Trump withdrew the United States from an international nuclear agreement and reimposed tough sanctions on Iran.
"Peace, economic development and human rights - fruitful discussion with my counterpart,” Cassis wrote on Twitter following the talks.
Switzerland has also played a major role in prisoner swaps between Tehran and Washington.
According to the U.S. Department of State, Secretary Mike Pompeo had a phone call with Cassis before his Tehran visit, raising speculation the visit involved talks on Tehran-Washington relations.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry spokesman Saeed Khatibzadeh denied the "speculations” on Monday, saying it was a planned visit delayed over the novel coronavirus outbreak and "not related to Iran and the U.S”.
"I’m glad we could establish together the Swiss Humanitarian Channel for the transfer of food and medical supplies to the people of Iran,” Cassis said on Twitter.
Known by its acronym SHTA, the Swiss channel is a payment mechanism aimed to enable food, medicine and other humanitarian aid to be sent to Iran without breaking U.S. sanctions.
Humanitarian goods are theoretically exempt from sanctions, but international purchases of such supplies are almost impossible since banks are wary of falling foul of the U.S. over doing business with Iran.
The channel was established and conducted its first transaction earlier this year.
Khatibzadeh cited the U.S. pressure that delayed Switzerland’s setting up of the financial channel for 20 months.
He also pointed to Washington’s attempt to sway the International Atomic Energy Agency’s opinion about Tehran by contacting the UN nuclear agency’s Director-General Rafael Grossi before his recent visit to the Islamic Republic.
The Iranian official was asked about reported efforts by the United Arab Emirates and the occupying regime of Israel to set up an espionage center targeting the Islamic Republic.
He said Emirati officials were busy perpetrating two types of strategic mistake by trying to endear themselves to the Zionist regime and its biggest ally, the U.S.
The first type, he said, was a "cognitive” mistake about the UAE’s standing in the region and the world on the one hand and the U.S. and Israel’s position across the international community on the other. The second mistake that has afflicted the UAE’s calculations is Abu Dhabi trying to "buy security” from extra-regional sources, the spokesman added.
"We have witnessed these types of mistakes a lot in this region,” Khatibzadeh said, adding former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein made the same mistake by waging a war on the Islamic Republic for eight years in the 1980s.
The spokesman hoped that the Emirates would make up for its mistakes, warning that "Iran does not joke with anyone when it comes to the issue of its national security.”
The Iranian official, meanwhile, referred to a recent U.S.-brokered deal between Kosovo and Serbia, as part of which Washington demanded the former to likewise set up ties with the occupying regime of Israel and the latter to relocate its embassy from Tel Aviv to the holy occupied city of Jerusalem Al-Quds.
Khatibzadeh called the pressure exerted on the two Balkan countries a "heinous election” ploy by U.S. President Donald Trump.
Disproportionate Response
The spokesman also said Iran will give a proportionate response if signatories to the Iran nuclear deal,
officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), fail to fulfill their commitments under the agreement. He said parties to the nuclear accord are also supposed to comply with the provisions of UN Security Council Resolution 2231. "If any signatory wants to breach Resolution 2231 or renege on its obligations under the JCPOA in any form or shape, Iran will give a proportionate response,” the spokesman said. He said in case of any such violation, Iran will withdraw from the JCPOA. "Iran has clearly said that the breach of Resolution 2231 by signatories to the JCPOA would mean an end to Iran’s participation in the deal. Naturally, they know this, and would not play with the last remaining chances to preserve the JCPOA.”