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RFL/RE – Iran’s president has said Tehran is ready to negotiate with the United States if Washington ends economic sanctions.
Meanwhile, European leaders used a holiday gathering to call for renewed talks to end the growing escalation between Tehran and Washington.
President Hassan Rohani said in a televised speech on July 14 that Tehran will be ready to talk with the Trump administration when it stops its “sanctions and bullying.”
However, U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo dismissed Rohani’s proposal, telling The Washington Post it was “the same offer that he offered to John F. Kerry and Barack Obama,” referring to the former U.S. secretary of state and president.
The United States last year withdrew from a 2015 nuclear agreement with Iran and reimposed sanctions after the Trump administration said the deal would enable Tehran to produce a nuclear weapon in a few years. The sanctions have devastated the Iranian economy.
In response, Tehran has taken steps to enrich uranium beyond the limits imposed by that agreement, sparking more threats of sanctions from the United States.
Britain, France, and Germany have remained a part of the nuclear deal, as have Russia and China. Iran has criticized the three Western states for not doing more to help its economy.
Britain, France, and Germany on July 14 called on “all stakeholders to pause and consider the possible consequences of their actions.”
The joint statement came as French President Emmanuel Macron met with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and British minister David Lidington during the Bastille Day parade in Paris.
“We believe the time has come to act responsibly and seek a path to stop the escalation of tensions and resume dialogue,” the statement said.
The United States said earlier this month it was considering sanctioning Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, a move some critics said would be a sign Washington was not interested in dialogue.
On July 14, U.S. officials said they had given Zarif a U.S. visa to attend a UN meeting this week. Iran’s mission to the United Nations said he had arrived in New York late on July 14.
Pompeo told The Washington Post that he granted a visa to Zarif to visit New York primarily to meet U.S. obligations to the United Nations.
“U.S. diplomats don’t roam around Tehran, so we don’t see any reason for Iranian diplomats to roam freely around New York City, either,” Pompeo said.
“It’s absolutely appropriate that we provide Foreign Minister Zarif and his delegation with all the rights that they are due under the UN headquarters agreement, and nothing more than that,” he added.
