Mohammed Javad Zarif

:: Iran’s foreign minister has accused US President Donald Trump of trying to “kill” the nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.

Mohammed Javad Zarif said on his Twitter account on Friday that the US president “always wanted to kill” the deal that curbed Iran’s controversial nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of international sanctions.

Zarif says Trump is the one to blame and that the US “violated the letter and the spirit” of the nuclear agreement.

Trump has repeatedly described the nuclear deal as “bad” and has signed a bill imposing mandatory penalties on people involved in Iran’s ballistic missile program and anyone who does business with them.

Zarif earlier said the Trump administration is trying to “poison the international atmosphere” with the sanctions, which Zarif deemed illegal.

Iran to buy 48 helicopters

Iran is holding talks with European planemaker Airbus to buy 48 helicopters for civilian use, an Iranian official was on Saturday quoted as saying, as Iran continues its shopping spree of Western aircraft after the lifting of sanctions.

“The Health Ministry is planning to order 45 HEMS (Helicopter Emergency Medical Service) helicopters and the purchase is being negotiated by the Ministry of Roads and Urban Development,” Iran’s Financial Tribune daily quoted Deputy Minister Asghar Fakhrieh-Kashan as saying.

“Ports and Maritime Organization is also planning to hold a tender to purchase three search-and-rescue helicopters,” he added.

An Airbus Helicopters spokesman said: “We don’t comment on discussions we may or may not be having with potential customers.”

Iran has ordered more than 200 planes since international sanctions against the country were lifted last year in return for curbs on the country’s nuclear activities.

Flag-carrier IranAir has ordered 100 planes from Airbus, 80 from US rival Boeing (BA.N) and 20 ATR turboprops, but implementing the deals has been hampered by uncertainty over financing.

In June, Airbus said two other Iranian airlines had committed to buying 73 planes in a last-minute flurry of deals for the aircraft manufacturer at the Paris Airshow.

Fakhrieh-Kashan said Iran was holding negotiations to merge the helicopter order into the IranAir-Airbus contract signed in December, Financial Tribune reported.