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Trump pushed U.S. and Iran 'close to the brink,' Iran's Zarif tells NBC News

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Saturday, 15 February, 2020, 15:45
Trump pushed U.S. and Iran 'close to the brink,' Iran's Zarif tells NBC News

Iran and the U.S. exchanged angry letters during the recent confrontation that followed the U.S. drone strike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani and the two sides came "very close to the brink," Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif told NBC News.

In an exclusive interview with NBC's Chief Foreign Correspondent Richard Engel, Zarif said relations remained tense after the January showdown and blamed President Donald Trump for pursuing a misguided policy toward Iran.

"It's unfortunate that the United States, based on misinformation, based on ignorance and arrogance, combined on a course that has brought the region very close to the brink," Zarif said. "We were very close to a war."

Zarif alleged that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo had written an "extremely inappropriate letter to Iran" at the height of the crisis in January and that his government responded with a strongly worded reply.