Iran's Zarif Calls Iran-Focused Summit In Poland A 'Desperate circus'

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif speaks during the second day of the three-day Raisina Dialogue conference in New Delhi, January 9, 2019.

DUBAI, Jan 11 (Reuters) -

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif criticised Poland on Friday for jointly hosting a global summit with the United States focused on the Middle East, particularly Iran, calling it a "desperate anti-Iran circus".

Earlier on Friday Washington announced that the summit would be held in Warsaw from Feb. 13 to Feb. 14, and U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo said the meeting would focus on stability and security in the Middle East, including on the "important element of making sure that Iran is not a destabilizing influence."

Writing on his Twitter account, Zarif said:

"Reminder to host/participants of anti-Iran conference: those who attended last U.S. anti-Iran show are either dead, disgraced, or marginalized. And Iran is stronger than ever."

He went on to write that "while Iran saved Poles in WWII, it now hosts desperate anti-Iran circus."

Relations between Tehran and Washington are once more highly fraught following the decision in May by President Donald Trump to pull the U.S. out of a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six major powers and to reimpose sanctions.