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NEW YORK (Reuters) – US President Donald Trump said on Tuesday he would not meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani as world leaders gathered in New York, but said he was open to a later meeting.
PHOTO: US President Donald Trump attends a signing ceremony of the US-Korea Free Trade Agreement with South Korean President Moon Jae-in on the sidelines of the 73rd UN General Assembly United in New York, September 24, 2018. REUTERS / Carlos Barria
The presidents of both countries were to attend the United States General Assembly in New York, where Trump is scheduled to speak at 10:15 am (14:15 GMT).
Enemies for decades, Washington and Tehran, have been increasingly at odds since May, when the Republican President of the United States withdrew from the international nuclear deal with Iran in 2015 and announced sanctions against the OPEC member.
The deal, negotiated under US Democratic President Barack Obama, lifted most international sanctions against Tehran in exchange for cutting Iran's nuclear program.
During the summer, Trump said he would meet Rouhani without preconditions to negotiate a new deal, a bid reiterated Sunday by US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo and addressed to Iran's Supreme Leader, the Ayatollah. Khamenei.
Rouhani said on Monday that Tehran would not discuss with Trump until the US returned to the 2015 deal. Khamenei's senior advisor, Ali Akbar Velayati, rejected the US bid on Tuesday, saying Trump's dream and Pompeo "said the IRNA news agency.
"Despite requests, I do not plan to meet with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani. Maybe someday in the future. I'm sure it's an absolutely adorable man, "wrote Trump in a post on Twitter.
Alireza Miryousefi, a spokeswoman for the Iranian mission, told Reuters that Iran had not asked for a meeting with Trump.
Some Iranian insiders have stated that any negotiations between Rouhani and Trump would effectively kill the existing agreement.
The cancellation of the current pact would have a political cost for the Iranian president, who defended the agreement with the support of the supreme leader and who could lose the support of the European allies.
Rouhani is also under increasing pressure from supporters of his country, including the Iranian Revolutionary Guards, who maintained anti-American rhetoric before the US session.
Iran has limited its nuclear activities in exchange for easing sanctions in the 2015 nuclear deal.
Trump withdrew, saying that the agreement did not go far enough. His administration is pushing allies to reduce Iranian oil imports to zero as Washington prepares to reinstate sanctions on Iranian oil sales in November.
The remaining countries in the agreement, which see the best chance of preventing Iran from developing a nuclear bomb, agreed Monday to continue working to maintain trade with Tehran.
German Foreign Minister Heiko Maas, after a meeting Monday with Britain, China, France, Germany, Russia and Iran in New York, warned that the US strategy to exercise a maximum pressure
Reportage by Michelle Nichols; Written by Susan Heavey; Edited by Steve Orlofsky
