Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif has disputed suggestions that Iran now wanted access to the American financial system as part of the nuclear accord.

“We never asked to have access to your financial system,” Zarif said in an interview with the New York Times published on Wednesday.

He also said that U.S. officials must be “much more proactive” in assuring other countries that they could do business in Iran without risking penalties from the U.S.

“What we asked was to implement the nuclear deal, which requires the United States to allow European financial institutions to have peace of mind for dealing with Iran,” he said.

Zarif acknowledged that the Treasury, which oversees the complex rules of American financial sanctions, had taken steps to carry out the nuclear agreement, “but I don’t think it’s enough.”

“They need a much more proactive approach to just letting people know that they won’t be punished for dealing with Iran,” he said.

Commenting on relations with Saudi Arabia, he held out little hope for an improvement in relations, accusing the Saudis of fabricating issues with Iran because they saw such a strategy as in their interest.