Pres. Rouhani: Americans had propagandised about being ready for negotiation

AhlulBayt News Agency (ABNA): After attending the 74th session of the United Nations General Assembly in New York, President Hassan Rouhani arrived in Tehran minutes ago.

Speaking at Mehrabad Airport upon arrival from New York, President Hassan Rouhani said, “This year, when we entered New York, we felt two negative atmospheres, both among diplomats and the media, about Iran”.

“This first negative atmosphere was revolving around the accusation that the Aramco accident in Saudi Arabia was beyond the Yemeni army’s capabilities with the aim of gathering the public opinions and the politicians around it,” he said.

Dr Rouhani added, “I believe that in this regard, the Iranian delegation made it clear enough to the world. Even some European leaders had issued a statement, stipulating that Iran had a role in the attack, I asked them to provide evidence, which they did not have any”.

He continued, “They quoted their experts by saying that the capabilities of the Yemenis are not enough to carry out such an operation. I told them that they did not have any knowledge and information about their capabilities, but they have a lot of information about Yemen’s enemies, because they give them weapons”.

On the importance of meetings and interviews carried out in New York, the President said, “The plot that was hatched by the United States and Saudi Arabia and some other countries have become very weak after our explanation”.

“In addition to that, leaders of some important countries, including Russia and Turkey, announced it clearly that these accusations against Iran are false,” he said.

Dr Rouhani added, “In this regard, it was important for the public opinions and international communities to know this, and I explained it to the UN Secretary-General”.

He said, “Americans had propagandised about being ready for negotiation, and that it is Iran who is stubborn. They had sent messages to almost all European and no-European leaders that they wanted one-to-one negotiations between the two Presidents, but we had rejected it, saying that negotiations had to be done in the framework of P5+1, and they accepted”.

“Of course, 3 out of the 6 countries, that is the Chancellor of Germany, Prime Minister of Britain, and President of France all insisted for the meeting to be held, saying that the US would lift all sanctions,” said Rouhani.

He continued, “But the problem here is that under sanctions and maximum pressure, even if we want to negotiate with the Americans within the framework of P5+1, nobody can predict about the end and upshot of the negotiation”.

Stating that, “We argued that it is US who poses obstacles,” he said, “I believe it was necessary that we make it clear in our meetings and interviews that it is the United States that poses obstacles and does not want issues to be settled”.

Emphasising that Iran is not afraid of negotiation, Dr Rouhani referred to the reduction of JCPOA commitments, adding, “Some would say that the third step in this regard is very important, and that if you want to install modern centrifuges, it means that you are moving towards acquiring nuclear weapons”.

“We explained in our interviews and bilateral meetings that if anyone wants to move towards acquiring nuclear weapons, they would at least limit monitoring, but Iran has not done so and all our nuclear activities are under the supervision of the IAEA,” said the President.

Referring to bilateral meetings with leaders of 15 nations on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly, Dr Rouhani said, "We discussed various issues with various countries, and all of them condemned the United States’ withdrawn from the JCPOA and its pressures. This is a huge success for Iran”.

The president said that one of the goals of Americans is to keep Iran isolated, adding, “In my opinion, the US was completely unsuccessful. Iran's position was clear at the summit”.

The President noted, “Almost all top-level officials, including those from Asia, Africa, and Europe, had requested to meet with us. In my opinion, we were able to deliver the message, the pain and the legitimacy of the Iranian nation to the international community as much as we could”.

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