Trump, Iran's president talk of possible meeting to solve nuclear impasse
Skip to main content
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
The Business Standard
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
TUESDAY, MAY 24, 2022
  • Home
  • Economy
  • Stocks
  • Analysis
  • World+Biz
  • Sports
  • Splash
  • Features
  • Videos
  • Long Read
  • Games
  • Epaper
  • More
    • COVID-19
    • Bangladesh
    • Infograph
    • Interviews
    • Offbeat
    • Thoughts
    • Podcast
    • Quiz
    • Tech
    • Subscribe
    • Archive
    • Trial By Trivia
    • Magazine
    • Supplement
  • বাংলা
Trump, Iran's president talk of possible meeting to solve nuclear impasse

World+Biz

Reuters
27 August, 2019, 08:40 am
Last modified: 27 August, 2019, 08:43 am

Related News

  • Five dead, scores trapped after building collapses in Iran
  • Iran's Revolutionary Guards say colonel assassinated in Tehran
  • Qatari FM says Iran's leadership open for a compromise on nuclear file
  • Hezbollah and allies lose majority in Lebanese parliament, final results show
  • Power of Trump's endorsements faces test in 12 key US midterm primaries

Trump, Iran's president talk of possible meeting to solve nuclear impasse

But Trump, speaking at a G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz, ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran.

Reuters
27 August, 2019, 08:40 am
Last modified: 27 August, 2019, 08:43 am
US President Donald Trump attends a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not seen) at the end of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019/Reuters
US President Donald Trump attends a joint press conference with French President Emmanuel Macron (not seen) at the end of the G7 summit in Biarritz, France, August 26, 2019/Reuters

US President Donald Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran’s president under the right circumstances to end a confrontation over a 2015 nuclear deal and that talks were underway to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran’s economy afloat.

But Trump, speaking at a G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz, ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran.

Trump told reporters it was realistic to envisage a meeting between him and President Hassan Rouhani in coming weeks, describing Iran as a country of “tremendous potential”.

“I have a good feeling. I think he (Rouhani) is going to want to meet and get their situation straightened out. They are hurting badly,” Trump said.

French President Emmanuel Macron, host of the G7 summit, told the same news conference that Rouhani told him he would be open to meeting Trump. Macron said he hoped a summit between the two could happen in coming weeks. Trump and Rouhani head to the United Nations General Assembly in September.

Anything agreed at a Trump-Rouhani encounter would be subject to approval by Iran’s top decision maker, the fiercely anti-American Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.

European leaders have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Tehran and Washington since Trump pulled out of the 2015 nuclear deal and reimposed sanctions on Iran. Macron has spent the summer trying to create conditions that would bring the sides back to the negotiating table.

“What I hope is that in coming weeks, based on these talks, we can manage to see a summit between President Rouhani and President Trump,” Macron said, adding he believed if they met a deal could be struck.

Macron’s efforts took a surprise turn on Sunday when Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, who is under US sanctions, flew to Biarritz.

Some experts expressed skepticism that Rouhani would meet Trump without at least a suspension in US sanctions aimed at slashing Iran’s oil exports – Tehran’s main source of revenue – to zero. But one said Macron’s plan appeared to include financial relief for Tehran that does not involve relaxing US sanctions.

“VERY VIOLENT FORCE”
Iran has recently engaged in combative rhetoric about its ability to attack US interests. Trump said: “They can’t do what they were saying they were going to do because if they do that, they will be met with really very violent force. So I think they are going to be good.”

Trump said he was not open to giving Iran compensation for sanctions. However he said the idea under discussion would be for numerous countries to give Iran a credit line.

“No we are not paying, we don’t pay,” Trump said.

“But they may need some money to get them over a very rough patch and if they do need money, and it would be secured by oil, which to me is great security, and they have a lot of oil... so we are really talking about a letter of credit. It would be from numerous countries, numerous countries.”

The 2015 deal between Iran and six world powers, reached under former US President Barack Obama, aimed to curb Iran’s disputed uranium enrichment program in exchange for the lifting of many international sanctions on Tehran.

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.

During his brief visit on Sunday, Zarif held talks with Macron and British and German officials before returning home.

Though potentially a diplomatic minefield, Macron’s gamble with Zarif appears to have worked out for now, as Trump endorsed the initiative and toned down his rhetoric on Tehran.

Richard Nephew, who served on the Obama administration team that negotiated the nuclear deal, said it was unlikely Rouhani would meet Trump unless U.S. sanctions were eased.

“I think even a photo and a handshake would be too hard for Rouhani unless immediately after there was a suspension in sanctions,” said Nephew, a scholar at Columbia University and the Brookings Institution think tank .

Pointing to Trump’s reference to Iran receiving a line of credit, Jon Alterman, a former State Department official, said it appeared that Macron’s plan involved financial help for Tehran.
But whether a Trump-Rouhani meeting goes forward could depend on whether Iran, which slowly has been breaching the nuclear deal, proceeds with a threat of further violations in early September unless it receives sanctions relief, said Alterman, director of the Middle East Program at the Center for Strategic and International Security think tank.

“MAKE IRAN RICH AGAIN”
While Trump reaffirmed Washington’s goal of extracting further-reaching security concessions from Iran, he said he wanted to see “a really good Iran, really strong”, adding that Washington was not looking for regime change.

“I knew (Zarif) was coming in and I respected the fact that he was coming in. We’re looking to make Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well, if they want,” Trump said.

While Trump’s European allies also want fresh negotiations, they believe the nuclear deal must be upheld to help ward off the risk of wider war in the Middle East. Macron had already met Zarif in Paris on Friday ahead of the G7 summit.

“What we want is very simple. It’s got to be non-nuclear (as well),” Trump said. “We’re going to talk about ballistic missiles..., about the timing. But they (Iran) have to stop terrorism. I think they are going to change, I really do.”

Trump said it was too early for him to meet Zarif himself.

Rouhani signaled a readiness to meet Trump if that helped Iran, according to the official presidency website.

“If I know that in meeting with somebody the problem of my country would be solved, I wouldn’t hesitate because the central issue is the national interests of the country,” Rouhani said.

Top News

Donald Trump / Iran

Comments

While most comments will be posted if they are on-topic and not abusive, moderation decisions are subjective. Published comments are readers’ own views and The Business Standard does not endorse any of the readers’ comments.

Top Stories

  • Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
    Corporates go cashless…tax cut on cards
  • A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo
    3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus
  • Rising revenue collection a false dawn, economists say
    Rising revenue collection a false dawn, economists say

MOST VIEWED

  • Toyota to cut global production plan by 100,000 in June
    Toyota to cut global production plan by 100,000 in June
  • Photo: Collected
    Indonesia has no plan to reduce palm oil in biodiesel mix: Minister
  • A man wearing a protective mask, amid the coronavirus disease (COVID-19) outbreak, walks past an electronic board displaying Japan's Nikkei index and various countries' stock market index prices outside a brokerage in Tokyo, Japan, February 22, 2022. REUTERS/Kim Kyung-Hoon
    Asia stocks slip with US futures, euro holds gains
  • A maze of crude oil pipes and valves is pictured during a tour by the Department of Energy at the Strategic Petroleum Reserve in Freeport, Texas, U.S. June 9, 2016. REUTERS/Richard Carson
    Oil prices ease on concerns over recession, weaker consumption
  • Photo: AFP
    Missiles, helicopters: 20 countries offer new arms for Ukraine
  • Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskiy is seen on a screen as he delivers a video address to the delegates of the World Economic Forum (WEF) in Davos, Switzerland May 23, 2022. REUTERS/Arnd Wiegmann/File Photo
    Ukraine's Zelenskiy says he would meet with Putin to end the war

Related News

  • Five dead, scores trapped after building collapses in Iran
  • Iran's Revolutionary Guards say colonel assassinated in Tehran
  • Qatari FM says Iran's leadership open for a compromise on nuclear file
  • Hezbollah and allies lose majority in Lebanese parliament, final results show
  • Power of Trump's endorsements faces test in 12 key US midterm primaries

Features

A Russian army service member fires a howitzer during drills at the Kuzminsky range in the southern Rostov region, Russia January 26, 2022. REUTERS/Sergey Pivovarov/File Photo

3 months of Ukraine war : Miscalculations, resistance and redirected focus

22m | Analysis
Musk is denying the sexual harassment allegation that surfaced this week. Photo: Bloomberg

Elon Musk’s crazily banal week 

18h | Panorama
Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

Asus Zenbook 14 Flip OLED: A touch of brilliance to your life

21h | Brands
Keep your phone by your side with this armband

Keep your phone by your side with this armband

19h | Brands

More Videos from TBS

How to maintain a good relationship with colleagues

How to maintain a good relationship with colleagues

7m | Videos
Why are Duranta TV shows popular?

Why are Duranta TV shows popular?

13h | Videos
Donbas is hell, says Zelenskiy

Donbas is hell, says Zelenskiy

14h | Videos
Threat of Monkeypox on the horizon

Threat of Monkeypox on the horizon

15h | Videos

Most Read

1
Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge
Bangladesh

Tk100 for bike, Tk2,400 for bus to cross Padma Bridge

2
A packet of US five-dollar bills is inspected at the Bureau of Engraving and Printing in Washington March 26, 2015. REUTERS/Gary Cameron
Banking

Dollar hits Tk100 mark in open market

3
Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi
Bangladesh

Bangladesh at risk of losing ownership of Banglar Samriddhi

4
PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire
Crime

PK Halder: How a scamster rose from humble beginnings to a Tk11,000cr empire

5
BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies
Stocks

BSEC launches probe against Abul Khayer Hero and allies

6
The reception is a volumetric box-shaped room that has two glass walls on both the front and back ends and the other two walls are adorned with interior plants, wood and aluminium screens. Photo: Noor-A-Alam
Habitat

The United House: Living and working inside nature

The Business Standard
Top
  • Home
  • Entertainment
  • Sports
  • About Us
  • Bangladesh
  • International
  • Privacy Policy
  • Comment Policy
  • Contact Us
  • Economy
  • Sitemap
  • RSS

Contact Us

The Business Standard

Main Office -4/A, Eskaton Garden, Dhaka- 1000

Phone: +8801847 416158 - 59

Send Opinion articles to - oped.tbs@gmail.com

For advertisement- sales@tbsnews.net

Copyright © 2022 THE BUSINESS STANDARD All rights reserved. Technical Partner: RSI Lab