Iran’s Zarif discusses COVID-19 outbreak with foreign officials

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif held telephone conversations with a number of his foreign counterparts and with the EU foreign policy chief about a range of issues, most notably the outbreak of the novel coronavirus in the world.

According to Tasnim news agency, in one of the telephone conversations on Wednesday, Zarif and his Norwegian counterpart Ine Marie Eriksen Soreide talked about Tehran-Oslo cooperation in the fight against the coronavirus.

In another conversation, Zarif and Foreign Minister of Switzerland Ignazio Cassis discussed the latest situation of the coronavirus outbreak in the world, Iran’s measures in this regard, and the collective ways of fighting the disease.

Zarif also held talks with Foreign Minister of Austria Alexander Schallenberg and with Pakistan’s Shah Mahmood Qureshi.

In the talks with the top Pakistani diplomat, the two sides discussed the ongoing developments in Afghanistan.

Also in a telephone conversation with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov, they exchanged views about the current situation in Syria’s Idlib and the Astana Process for establishing peace in the Arab country, according to the Foreign Ministry’s website.

In another phone conversation, Zarif and EU Foreign Policy Chief Josep Borrell discussed the outbreak of the coronavirus in the world, Iran’s measures in the battle with the disease, the latest developments regarding the JCPOA, and the International Atomic Energy Agency's recent biased report against Iran.

ME