September 22, The Iran Project – On the fifth day of his visit, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad-Javad Zarif, who is in New York to attend the 72nd UNGeneral Assembly meeting, has held talks with his several counterparts and interviewed with the New York Times, as well.

Zarif held talks with counterparts from Namibia Netumbo Nandi-Ndaitwah, from Slovenia Karl Erjavec, from Denmark Anders Samuelsen, from Canada Chrystia Freeland, from Australia Julie Bishop and from China's Wang Yi as well as from the Netherlands Foreign Minister Bert Koenders.

Zarif and Koenders discussed the bilateral ties and regional development in New York on Thursday.

During the meeting, the two sides reviewed the ways to expand bilateral cooperation as well as regional and international issues and Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA).

The two sides also exchanged views on the issue of referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan Region and the necessity to respect and observe Iraqi Constitution, national sovereignty and territorial integrity.

Bert Koenders, for his part, expressed his country's support for JCPOA and underlined the necessity to remain committed to the deal.

In an interview with The New York Timeson Thursday, Zarif said US wants to change the deal at Iran’s expense alone, while Washington itself is not willing to make any concessions.

Iran’s foreign minister has dismissed any re-negotiations of the 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers, including the US, saying Washington is merely after getting more Iranian concessions under the accord with no new concessions from itself or other signatories in return.

The top Iranian diplomat further said that kind of position contradicted the premise of any negotiated deal. If the nuclear accord is supposed to change, then every concession Iran has made to help make the deal happen has to be reconsidered, he noted.

“Why should we discuss an addendum?” he asked. “If you want to have an addendum, there has to be an addendum on everything.”

“Are you prepared to return to us 10 tons of enriched uranium?,” Zarif also asked, referring to the stockpile, which was shipped to Russia as part of the deal.

After the 5+1 joint commission’s meeting on Wednesday, Zarif said all but one member of the 5+1 group of countries have stressed full commitment to the implementation of nuclear deal, voicing disinterest in reopening the agreement.