Iran says 'no plans' for Rouhani-Trump meet on UN sidelines

Pulse News Agency International by AFP

September 16, 2019 8:37 AM

Iran has not made any plans for President Hassan Rouhani to meet his US counterpart Donald Trump on the sidelines of the upcoming UN General Assembly, a spokesman said Monday.

US President Donald Trump has suggested meeting Iranian leader Hassan Rouhani at a UN meeting in New York

"We have neither planned for this meeting, nor do I think such a thing would happen in New York," the foreign ministry's Abbas Mousavi said in remarks aired on state television.

The White House said on Sunday that Trump may still meet Rouhani at the UN meeting in New York next week, despite accusations from Washington that Tehran was behind weekend drone attacks on Saudi Arabian oil facilities.

"As we have stated before, if the Americans return to the JCPOA and cease their economic terrorism, they can return to the joint commission and talk," Mousavi added.

He was referring to a commission within the framework of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, a 2015 agreement that gave Iran the promise of relief from sanctions in return for curbs on its nuclear programme.

Tensions between the two countries have soared since Trump unilaterally withdrew the US from the JCPOA in May last year and began reimposing crippling sanctions on the Islamic republic.

European powers have been trying to salvage the nuclear accord and de-escalate the situation.

French President Emmanuel Macron has been leading the efforts, and proposed a meeting between Rouhani and Trump to defuse the crisis.

Pulse News Agency International by AFP