Iran says U.S. should avoid 'warmongers' after Bolton departure
Send a link to a friend
[September 11, 2019]
By Parisa Hafezi
DUBAI (Reuters) - Iran said on Wednesday
Washington should distance itself from "warmongers" after the
resignation of hawkish White House National Security Adviser John
Bolton, and Tehran stood by its demand that sanctions be lifted before
any talks.
The departure of Bolton removes one of the strongest advocates of a hard
line towards Iran from President Donald Trump's White House, and raises
the prospect of steps to open up negotiations after more than a year of
escalating tension.
"America should understand that ... it should distance itself from
warmongers," Iran's semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted President
Hassan Rouhani as saying on Wednesday, without mentioning Bolton.
"Iran's policy of resistance will not change as long as our enemy (the
United States) continues to put pressure on Iran," said Rouhani, a
pragmatist who won two landslide elections in Iran on promises to open
it up to the world.
Last year, the United States pulled out of an international agreement
between Iran and world powers under which Tehran accepted curbs on its
nuclear program in return for access to world trade.
Washington says the agreement reached by Trump's predecessor Barack
Obama was too week because many of its terms expire in a decade and it
does not cover non-nuclear issues such as Iran's missile program and
regional behavior.
The White House has followed what the administration calls a policy of
"maximum pressure", including sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil
exports, saying its ultimate aim is to push Tehran to the table for
talks on a new, tougher deal.
Immediately after Bolton's departure, U.S. Secretary of State Mike
Pompeo said on Tuesday that Trump could meet with Rouhani at an upcoming
U.N, meeting with "no preconditions".
Iran has rejected talks unless sanctions are lifted first. It said on
Wednesday that Bolton's exit had not changed that position.
[to top of second column]
|
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani speaks during the cabinet meeting
in Tehran, Iran, September 11, 2019. Official President
website/Handout via REUTERS
"The departure of ... Bolton from President Donald Trump's
administration will not push Iran to reconsider talking with the
U.S.," Iran's U.N. envoy, Majid Takhteravanchi was quoted as saying
by state news agency IRNA.
Iran says it hopes to salvage the nuclear deal but cannot do so
indefinitely if it receives none of the promised economic benefits.
It has responded to U.S. sanctions with a series of steps to reduce
its compliance with the agreement, and has said it could eventually
abandon it unless other parties shield its economy from U.S.
penalties.
"Iran's commitments to the nuclear deal are proportional to other
parties and we will take further steps if necessary," Rouhani said.
Iran had announced last week as the deadline for it to take further
steps to ramp up production of enriched uranium, but said it was
giving European countries an extra two months to come up with a plan
to protect its economy.
France has proposed giving Iran a multi-billion dollar credit line
which would shield it from some impact of U.S. sanctions, although
any such deal would require the Trump administration's tacit
approval.
(Additional Reporting by Tuqa Khalid; Writing by Parisa Hafezi;
Editing by Peter Graff)
[© 2019 Thomson Reuters. All rights
reserved.]
Copyright 2019 Reuters. All rights reserved. This material may not be published,
broadcast, rewritten or redistributed.
Thompson Reuters is solely responsible for this content.
|