President Trump on Friday said he refused a request by Tehran to lift crippling sanctions in exchange for talks — sharply contradicting Iranian President Hassan Rouhani’s statements.
“Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on them in order to meet. I said, of course, NO!” Trump said in a tweet.
The State Department also slammed Rouhani’s claim as “baseless,” adding that the US is committed to zero oil exports from Iran, according to Bloomberg News.
Rouhani, speaking on his return from the UN General Assembly, said he met in New York with American officials at the insistence of Germany, Britain and France.
“The German chancellor, the prime minister of England (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,” Rouhani said on his official website, according to Reuters.
“It was up for debate what sanctions will be lifted and they (the United States) had said clearly that we will lift all sanctions.”
He said Tehran was prepared for negotiations but not in an atmosphere of sanctions and pressure.
“This action wasn’t in a manner that was acceptable, meaning that 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, no one can predict what the end and result of this negotiation will be,” he said.
Crude slipped after Rouhani’s claim that Washington offered to remove all sanctions on Tehran in exchange for negotiations — but after Trump’s denial, oil rebounded from the lows, according to CNBC.
The US and Iran are at odds over several issues, including Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and American accusations — denied by Tehran — that Iran attacked two Saudi oil facilities on Sept. 14, forcing the kingdom to cut production in half.
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