Tehran’s top diplomat who negotiated Iran nuclear deal visits Lebanon on his

During his stay in Beirut, Zarif is also scheduled to visit Lebanon’s Parliament Speaker Nabih Berri and Foreign Minister Gebran Bassil.

“There has been a change in the programme”, the Turkish official said, without giving any reason.

The Syria crisis is a cause of dispute between Iran and Turkey, with Tehran accusing Ankara of letting weapons and rebels through its border with Syria.

In addition to his talks on the deal, Zarif is expected to discuss with the Lebanese officials ways to improve bilateral economic cooperation, the sources said.

Iran is one of Syrian President Bashar al-Assad’s strongest backers, and has been marketing itself as a key player that could help resolve Syria’s crisis following the successfully brokered nuclear deal. Though the prospect for a genuine settlement looks dim, Russian Federation is now pressing for a solution and trying to assemble together warring sides in Moscow to find a common basis. Iran and the six world powers (the US, Russia, China, Britain and France, plus Germany) held several rounds of talks before signing the JCPOA in Vienna and ending the 13-year-old standoff on Iran’s nuclear program.

In the piece, Zarif criticised US policies in the Middle East, and blamed the emergence of extremist groups, including the Islamic State (IS) group, on US-led war in Iraq in 2003.

“This visit is on the agenda but will take place at a later date because the schedules didn’t line up in this timeframe”, the official said.