UN sanctions on Tehran illegal, say Iran Foreign Minister

Zarif, who was in Washington to meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, had earlier said Tehran is receiving "contradictory signals" from the US administration.

United Nations, Jul 19: Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has said the Trump administration is trying to "poison the international atmosphere" with new sanctions after it reported that the country met its obligations under the 2015 nuclear agreement.

Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Tuesday, "the international community has read this very loud and clear and continue to deal with Iran without much attention to this theater."

Zarif, who was in Washington to meet US Secretary of State Rex Tillerson, had earlier said Tehran is receiving "contradictory signals" from the US administration about the fate of the nuclear deal.

While President Donald Trump's administration indicated Iran's compliance, it also said Tehran would face consequences for breaching the spirit of the nuclear deal.

It followed up the announcement with new, non-nuclear sanctions on Iranians on Tuesday.

Zarif called the new sanctions illegal and told several reporters at UN headquarters that "this unfortunately has become a bad habit for this administration."

He stressed that the International Atomic Energy Agency already verified that Iran has lived up to its nuclear commitments.

Representatives of the five nuclear powers -- China, Russia, France, Britain, the United States -- plus Germany are to meet in Vienna on Friday to take stock of the deal. Zarif said they would discuss Iran's complaints about non-US compliance, accusing the US administration of failing to lift sanctions in line with the deal.

PTI