Rouhani: US Burned Bridges of Negotiations with Tehran

Local Editor

Once again, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani dismissed US offer of talks, which followed its unilateral withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear deal, saying the US, itself, burned its bridges for negotiations with Tehran.

Currently, the Islamic Republic is holding talks with the entire world, Rouhani told a government meeting on Wednesday.

He, however, said, “The US itself has acted in such a way that has destroyed the circumstances required for negotiations. It has burned its bridges."

“Now, the US is standing on the other side," wondering how to cross, the president noted, adding, “If it is honest, it should fix that bridge again.”

Trump’s offer of talks came only days after he threatened Iran in a tweet addressed to President Rouhani and said, “You will suffer consequences the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered before.”

Elsewhere, Rouhani also said Iran had held “very cordial and good” talks with its neighbors during the 5th Caspian Summit, which was recently held in the Kazakh port city of Aktau.

The Iranian president and Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif joined the summit on behalf of the Islamic Republic. The summit featured the signing of a historic convention on the Caspian Sea’s legal status.

Rouhani said talks over the resource-rich sea had been underway for more than 20 years, noting that some issues were resolved during the most recent round of talks.

He, especially, hailed the resolution of the outstanding issues regarding the Caspian "security" during the summit.

“The US and the NATO [military alliance] had plotted to establish their presence on the Caspian coasts and deploy their forces there,” Rouhani said.

“Based on this agreement, however, the establishment of military bases and the presence of foreign vessels in the Caspian Sea were banned,” he said, adding, “It was agreed that any ship seeking to sail in the sea should [do so] under the flag of one of the five littoral states.”

Source: News Agencies, Edited by website team