The Foreign Ministry in Tehran surprisingly announced today (Tuesday) the conclusion of the “technical talks” held by the Iranian delegation with representatives of the Trump administration in Switzerland, despite the fact that this round was supposed to last throughout the entire week.
1+Afterwards, Iran’s Deputy Foreign Minister and head of the technical negotiation team, Kazem Gharibabadi, provided an update on the “successful conclusion” of the technical talks between Iran, the United States, Pakistan, and Qatar, and the completion of preparations for the next phase of high-level contacts.
Yesterday, during a press conference, president Trump warned Iran that if it does not fulfill its obligations, he will act accordingly: “If Iran does not stand by the agreement, or if they do not behave properly, I will do what I have to do.”
1+The U.S. president claimed that the funds to be unfrozen for Iran under the understandings are intended to be used solely for purchasing food from the United States: “All of this money is coming back to us in the form of food purchases, which they desperately need. They have 91 million people; they cannot feed them. Therefore, the money we are releasing will go to our farmers.”
However, Iran rejected his claims. The “Tasnim” news agency reported that the Governor of the Central Bank of Iran, Abdolnaser Hemmati, stated that Tehran is not obligated to purchase agricultural inputs from the United States under the memorandum of understanding, and that the unfrozen funds will not necessarily be used only for purchasing basic commodities.