In an interview with IRAN newspaper, Zarif said Tehran has never been optimistic about the US conducts and that is why the country’s diplomats discussed everything in detail during the nuclear negotiations with the Group 5+1 (Russia, China, the US, Britain, France and Germany), which resulted in a nuclear deal known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).
Zarif explained that Iran entered the nuclear negotiations on the basis of “pessimism about the US”, saying it was proved later that such distrust was not unreasonable.
“We were all pessimistic about the US. Although we may have not made pessimistic comments when taking stances, it was different in the arena of negotiations,” he said.
“We were not optimistic that they (Americans) would honor their commitments eagerly,” Zarif went on to say.
While many consider the JCPOA a major breakthrough in the improvement of ties between Iran and the West, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyed Ali Khamenei has made it clear that Tehran’s policy toward the US will remain unchanged regardless of the nuclear deal.
The accord took effect in January and was supposed to terminate all nuclear-related sanctions against Iran all at once, but its implementation has been hampered mainly due to US policies.