By Josh Rogin
Washington Post
September 23, 2019
NEW YORK — There will be a lot of Iran-related diplomatic action this week here in New York during the United Nations General Assembly, but any prospect of direct interaction between U.S. and Iranian officials is now officially eliminated, Iran’s foreign minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, said on Sunday. He also accused Secretary of State Mike Pompeo of “economic terrorism” and said he should be put on trial before the International Criminal Court.
Only a couple of weeks ago, it seemed quite possible that President Trump and Iranian President Hassan Rouhani might meet on the sidelines of the General Assembly to stop the escalation of tensions that has twice in a few months brought the two countries to the brink of armed conflict. Last month, Zarif flew to Paris and then Biarritz, France, on the invitation of French President Emmanuel Macron, in the hopes of negotiating a Trump-Rouhani meeting in New York.