WEF: Iran's foreign minister talks war, nuke deal

Iran's foreign minister sat before an audience of Western business executives and policymakers at the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland, fielding questions about why Iran has yet to condemn Russia for its invasion in Ukraine and why efforts to revive its nuclear deal have stalled. It was a rare opportunity for many in the audience to hear directly from Hossein Amirabdollahian, who was interviewed Thursday by CNN's Fareed Zakaria.

When pressed on why Iran has not condemned its ally Russia for the war in Ukraine, he said Iran has, just as it had wars "against Afghanistan, Iraq, Yemen and Palestine."

In Ukraine, however, he says the US and NATO were involved in actions that provoked Moscow.


On stalled nuclear talks, he says some people in Iran and the US are against reviving the accord for their own reasons, including members of Iran's elected parliament.

Amirabdollahian says he thought U.S. President Joe Biden "is facing some kind of inaction. I hope that the American side will act and behave realistically."

He added that Iran is "keeping the window of diplomacy open" and that the Trump administration's sanctions must be lifted.

He dodged questions on whether removing Iran's Revolutionary Guard from a list of terrorist organizations was on obstacle to a deal. He hinted that the issue isn't essential as long as Iran is guaranteed economic benefits.