From the Liveblog of
Tuesday, February 18, 2020
US lawmaker defends meeting with Iran FM in Munich
Add ToI as a Preferred Source on GoogleUS Senator Chris Murphy defends a weekend meeting he held with Iran’s foreign minister in Europe, after his actions were questioned in conservative media.
The Connecticut Democrat says his Saturday meeting with Mohammad Javad Zarif was important because it is “dangerous not to talk to one’s enemies.” Murphy says he wanted to see Zarif because there has been no US diplomatic channel with Iran since US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear deal two years ago.
“I have no delusions about Iran — they are our adversary, responsible for the killing of thousands of Americans and unacceptable levels of support for terrorist organizations throughout the Middle East,” he writes in a Medium post.
Murphy’s meeting with Zarif was first reported in the conservative publication The Federalist. Asked about that report, US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told reporters Tuesday during a trip to Ethiopia that he hoped anyone who meets with Zarif would be reflecting the US position with Iran.
— AP
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