President Hassan Rouhani said the US president needs to rectify its wrong policy on Iran before any talks could be held between the two sides.
“US President Donald Trump has adopted four wrong measures with regard to Iran: withdrawing unilaterally from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the formal name of the 2015 nuclear deal], ignoring international obligations, exerting pressure on other countries to disregard their commitments and halt cooperation with Iran, imposing sanctions on the Iranian people and meddling in Iran’s internal affairs,” he said.
Rouhani was speaking in a meeting with senior directors of US media outlets in New York on Monday on the sidelines of the United Nations General Assembly.
“Before talking about negotiations, he [Trump] needs to move back,” the president was quoted as saying by his official website.
“You sit down with somebody to have coffee who you hope will change their behavior, but whatever Trump has done so far has been moves to destroy trust in the US government,” he said.
“If we feel that the US is sincerely seeking to improve the situation, then we will make a decision about holding negotiations.”
On US efforts to bring Iran’s oil exports to a complete halt, Rouhani said the US goal to prevent Iran from selling oil is not only impractical but also very dangerous.
“We hope we will be able to continue to trade with friendly states within the framework of international relations,” he said.
Trump pulled the US out of the nuclear deal in May and decided to reimpose sanctions on Iran in August. Since then, the US administration has repeatedly voiced readiness to hold talks with Iran to work out a comprehensive “treaty” with Tehran, which would cover the country’s missile development and regional activities, in addition to the nuclear program.
