Iran Praises US on Syria Deal, Calls for ‘Mutual Trust’

Foreign Minister Says Hopes US Will Stop Threats

Iranian officials have greeted the US-Russian deal on Syria’s chemical weapons disarmament with open praise, with parliamentary Speaker Ali Larijani saying it was an example of “US rationality.”

Iran’s new Foreign Minister Mohammad Zarif also cheered the deal, saying that he was glad that the apparent threat to military action against Syria has passed, while expressing hopes that it could spark trust-building between the two nations.

Iran’s new government has been pushing diplomacy with the US as a primary foreign policy goal, with President Hassan Rohani running on a platform of rapprochement and appointing reformists to his cabinet.

That the US is finally backing off the Syria war (more or less) has raised some hope that the US will be more reasonable in making a deal with Iran, but administration officials seem to be downplaying that so far.

Author: Jason Ditz

Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.