U.S., Iranian FM meet in Oslo over nuclear deal, Syria

U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry met with Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif here on Wednesday morning to discuss the nuclear deal, dubbed the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), as well as the Syria issue.

Their meeting came just one day after Zarif urged the United States to remove the "psychological remnants" of sanctions on his country and Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei vowed to retaliate if Washington sought to break the nuclear deal.

Kerry and Zarif "discussed progress on the continuing implementation of the JCPOA, including issues related to banking and relief of nuclear-related sanctions," U.S. State Department deputy spokesperson Mark Toner said in a statement.

"The two also addressed the situation in Syria, where the secretary stressed the need for full access for humanitarian aid and a nationwide cessation of hostilities," he said.

Zarif said Tuesday in Oslo the United States had removed all the sanctions "on paper," but "the psychological remnants of many years of sanctions are still there." He urged Washington to "take a much more proactive role" in removing these psychological remnants.

In a meeting with senior Iranian administrative, legislative and judiciary officials in Tehran on Tuesday, Khamenei emphasized "we won't break the JCPOA. But if the other side seeks to break it, as some candidates in the U.S. presidential elections threaten to tear it to pieces, we will set it ablaze."

In response to the remarks of the Iranian officials, Kerry defended Washington's efforts to implement the nuclear deal, saying the United States had kept faith with the agreement.

"With respect to the JCPOA, the United States of America has done absolutely everything that we were and are required to do according to the letter of the agreement," Kerry told a joint press conference with Norway's Prime Minister Erna Solberg later on Wednesday.

"We have completely kept faith with both the black-and-white print as well as the spirit of this effort," he added.

The U.S. secretary of state noted he had done more than what the agreement requires in encouraging U.S. companies to do business with Iran.

Some banks, businesses, and others "have natural reluctance after several years of sanctions to move without fully understanding what they are allowed to do and what they are not," Kerry said. "So a lot of clarifications are necessary." Endit