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Trump: No Sanctions Relief for Iran

VOA News

   U.S. President Donald Trump says he never agreed to lift sanctions on
   Iran in exchange for talks, disputing an earlier assertion by Iranian
   President Hassan Rouhani.

     Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on them in order to
     meet. I said, of course, NO!
     -- Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) [1]September 27, 2019

   Earlier in the day, Rouhani said the United States had offered to do so
   and that the issue was under discussion.

   "They [the United States] had clearly stated that we would lift the
   entire sanctions," Rouhani said, upon returning to Tehran from the
   United Nations General Assembly in New York.

   According to Rouhani's official website, the Iranian leader said that
   "the German chancellor, the prime minister of Britain and the president
   of France were in New York and all insisted that this meeting take
   place and America says that it will lift the sanctions."

   Iran analyst Alex Vatanka of the Middle East Institute in Washington
   said, "Perhaps Rouhani is hoping he can push Trump in this direction
   but for Washington to lift sanctions in exchange for talks only seems
   unlikely."

   But Vatanka added that Tehran's recent move to release a
   British-flagged oil tanker two months after it was seized for allegedly
   breaking maritime rules, and the Trump administration's decision to
   release an Iranian on charges for violating sanctions are "small steps
   but are the kinds of measures that might pave the way for something
   that starts to look like a confidence-building process" toward a
   potential negotiation.

   Rouhani said Friday his country was ready to take part in negotiations,
   but not in the current political climate.

   "In the atmosphere of sanctions and the existence of sanctions and the
   toxic atmosphere of maximum pressure, even if we want to negotiate with
   the Americans in the 5+1 framework, nobody can predict what the end
   result of the negotiation will be," he said.

References

   1. https://twitter.com/realDonaldTrump/status/1177574382056693760?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw

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