Iranian officials yesterday reacted skeptically to US President Donald Trump’s comments that he is willing to negotiate with his Iranian counterpart, saying instead that if Trump wants talks, he needs to rejoin the international nuclear deal he unilaterally pulled out of earlier this year.
Trump on Monday said he would meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani “anytime” if the Iranian leader were willing.
In his first public remarks after the comment, Rouhani did not mention Trump at all, but instead stressed the need for the other nations involved in the nuclear deal to forge ahead with their pledges to try to salvage it.
Photo: AP
“Today we are at a very critical point in history regarding the nuclear deal, and Europe’s transparent measures to compensate for the United States’ unlawful withdrawal from it are very important for the Iranian nation,” Rouhani said after talks with new British Ambassador to Iran Rob Macaire.
In addition to Britain, China, Germany, France, Russia and the EU are negotiating with Iran on preserving the deal.
The Iranian leadership has previously ruled out one-on-one talks with Trump, following his decision to pull the US out of the deal under which Iran was given relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear program.
Iran’s semi-official Iranian Students’ News Agency quoted political adviser Hamid Aboutalebi as saying that for talks to happen, the US needs to rejoin the deal.
“Those who believe in dialogue as a method of resolving disputes in civilized societies should be committed to the means,” he said.
Trump withdrew from the nuclear accord in May, saying it was too generous to Iran. He has vowed to ramp up sanctions until Iran radically changes its regional policies, including its support for regional militant groups, something its leaders have long refused to do.
Even though Trump on Monday said if Rouhani were to meet with him there would be “no preconditions,” he also did not walk back from any of those earlier demands.
With the first US sanctions due to come into effect on Monday, the economy in Iran has already been hit, giving rise to growing fears of prolonged economic suffering. Another round, covering other types of commerce, including oil purchases, goes into effect on Nov. 4.
Rouhani suggested again yesterday that Iran could cause major disruptions in the Gulf region by attempting to block key shipping lanes.
“Iran has never sought tensions in the region and does not want there to be any problem for the world’s waterways, but it will never let go of its right to export oil,” the semi-official Mehr news agency quoted him as saying.
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