Rouhani rules out talks with US until sanctions lifted
Iran will not talk to the United States until all sanctions
imposed on Tehran are lifted, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, a day
after President Donald Trump said he would meet his Iranian counterpart to try
to end a nuclear standoff.
Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran’s president under the
right circumstances to end a confrontation that began when Washington pulled
out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on
the country. Trump also said talks were under way to see how countries could
open credit lines to keep Iran’s economy afloat.
Rouhani said Iran was always
ready to hold talks. “But first the U.S. should act by lifting all illegal,
unjust and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran,” he said in a speech broadcast
live on state TV.
Speaking at a G7 summit in
the French resort of Biarritz, Trump ruled out lifting economic sanctions to
compensate for losses suffered by Iran.
“Washington has the key for
positive change ... So take the first step ... Without this step, this lock
will not be unlocked,” Rouhani said.
European parties to the deal
have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Iran and the United
States since Trump pulled Washington out last year.
French President Emmanuel Macron has led efforts to defuse
tensions and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif flew in to the
Biarritz G7 meeting unexpectedly on Sunday for side talks with French
officials.
Since ditching the deal last
year, Trump has pursued a policy of “maximum pressure” to try to force Iran
into broader talks to restrict its ballistic missile program and end its
support for proxy forces around the Middle East.
“Iran does not seek tension
with the world. We want security in the Middle East. We want better and
friendly ties with other countries,” said Rouhani.
Scaling Back Commitments
Iran, which has slowly been
breaching the nuclear deal in retaliation for U.S. sanctions, has threatened
further violations in early September unless it receives sanctions relief.
“We will continue to scale
back our commitments under the 2015 deal if our interests are not guaranteed,”
said Rouhani.
The 2015 deal between Iran
and six world powers, reached under former U.S. President Barack Obama, aimed
to curb Iran’s disputed uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting
of many international sanctions on Tehran.
Iran has ruled out talks with
Washington over its military capabilities, particularly its ballistic missile
program that it says is defensive. It denies the missiles are capable of being
tipped with nuclear warheads and says its nuclear program is peaceful.
Rouhani said seeking nuclear bomb weapons was banned under a
fatwa issued by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, referring to a religious
decree issued in the early 2000s by Iran’s top authority that bans the
development or use of nuclear weapons.
“We have never wanted nuclear
weapons because of our supreme leader’s fatwa,” said Rouhani.
Trump and Rouhani are both
due to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September. However, any
meeting between Trump and Rouhani would have to be approved by Iran’s utmost
authority Khamenei, who has the last say on all state matters.