Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif says that he was sanctioned by the United States after refusing an invitation to meet President Trump at the White House in July.
Speaking at a press conference on Monday in Tehran, Zarif said that during his visit to the United Nations last month he met with several US senators and congressmen. Zarif said that he was warned that if he had accepted the invitation to the White House, he could have avoided the sanctions against him.The minister said that he would not name the senators or congressmen he met with nor would he detail the contents of their conversations due to his role as a diplomat.
The country's recent seizures of three tankers in the Persian Gulf has marked an escalation in the standoff between the Islamic Republic and Western powers after Trump's decision to withdraw from the Iran nuclear deal last year.In a statement last Wednesday, Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin said Zarif"implements the reckless agenda of Iran's Supreme Leader, and is the regime's primary spokesperson around the world.
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