A spokesman for the Iranian Mission to the UN in New York has confirmed that the Islamic Republic Foreign Minister, Mohammad Javad Zarif, has met with Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-Calif.).
"The meeting took place as our routine meetings with members of Congress," Alireza Mir Yousefi told the government official news agency IRNA. However, he did not elaborate on the term "routine meetings", and did not provide any other details.
Earlier, May 23, Politico Player website had revealed that Feinstein was seen holding an unlocked phone with Zarif's contact information open. At the time, Sen. Feinstein office declined to confirm her communication with Tehran's top diplomat.
Nonetheless, hours later, Feinstein's office officially admitted that the meeting had taken place two weeks ago, adding that her meeting with Zarif was "arranged in consultation with the State Department."
"The office was in touch with State in advance of the meeting to let them know it was happening and to get an update on U.S.-Iran activity," Feinstein's office noted.
But an unnamed official at the State Department told Politico Player that was not true.
Feinstein, the former chair and vice chair of the Senate Intelligence Committee and currently in the minority as a Democratic member of the Senate, has not yet responded to requests for more information about the meeting.
The Logan Act in the U.S.A. bars unauthorized persons from negotiating with foreign governments.
