Donald Trump should use the U.N. General Assembly as an
opportunity to open dialogue with Mohammad Javad Zarif.
Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif and President
Hassan Rouhani are in New York this week to attend the United
Nations General Assembly. On Wednesday, Rouhani addressed world
leaders, accusing the United States of "international
piracy," and Washington ramped up sanctions on Iranian
crude.
In late July, the Trump administration took the unusual step of
imposing sanctions on Zarif, freezing whatever assets he might have
had in the United States, prohibiting Americans from engaging in
transactions with him, and suspending his visa to enter the
country. Although the White House made an exception to allow Zarif
to attend meetings at the U.N. General Assembly, the administration
says it will refuse to speak with him while he's here.
