WASHINGTON (Dispatches) -- Iran’s Foreign Minister Muhammad Javad Zarif who was sanctioned by the United States Treasury Department on July 30, was invited to the White House during his trip in mid-July to the U.S., The New Yorker reported.
Quoting both U.S. and Iranian sources the report says that the invitation was extended to Zarif by Senator Rand Paul, when the two met during the visit.
Paul coordinated the meeting closely with administration officials and discussed it with President Donald Trump. The invitation was part of the senator’s efforts to play a role in reducing tensions with Iran, with opening a direct channel with the top Iranian diplomat.
Paul met Zarif on July 15 at the residence of Iran’s UN ambassador in New York and heard proposals on how to resolve disagreements on Iran’s nuclear program.
After adopting a hawkish position on Iran for more than two years, Trump began repeatedly offering unconditional negotiations as tension flared up in the Persian Gulf in May and June.
Iran has insisted that the U.S. must first return to the nuclear deal or the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which Trump withdrew from in May 2018.
Zarif told Senator Paul, according to The New Yorker’s sources, that he could not make the decision alone to meet Trump and needed to clear it with Tehran. He voiced concern, that much like North Korea, the meeting would be little more than a photo-op.
The initiative did not lead anywhere as Tehran refused to approve a meeting - "at this time”.
Sanctioning Zarif has added a new twist to the diplomatic brinksmanship between Tehran and Washington.  
Apparently, Senator Paul did not agree with the decision to sanction Zarif. He tweeted, "If you sanction diplomats you’ll have less diplomacy.”