Zarif testifies before parliament’s nuclear deal committee

Iranian Foreign Minister and chief nuclear negotiator Mohammad Javad Zarif finally testified before parliament’s special committee to review the comprehensive nuclear deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany (P5+1).

The Sept. 13 hearing was the first time that Zarif, who had been traveling in the region, was able to respond to accusations made by former negotiator Saeed Jalili during testimony to parliament earlier this month. While Zarif said he did not intend to answer Jalili’s accusations directly, he did say that contrary to Jalili’s comments, Iran’s nuclear file had been an exceptional case for seven years (in the sense that Iran would negotiate with the international community about its nuclear program, but about little if nothing else). Jalili was head negotiator from 2007 to 2013 — years that a number of UN Security Council resolutions against Iran were passed because of its nuclear program.