BIARRITZ, France:US President Donald Trump said he was prepared to meet his Iranian counterpartHassan Rouhani in the next few weeks after talks over Tehran's nuclear programat a G7 summit in France. Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif made asurprise appearance on the sidelines of the summit in Biarritz on Sunday at theinvitation of French President Emmanuel Macron. Macron said that the"conditions for a meeting" between Trump and Rouhani to take place"in the next few weeks" had been created through intensive diplomacyand consultations.
"If thecircumstances were correct, I would certainly agree to that," Trump saidat a joint press conference with Macron. Asked by reporters if he thought thetimeline proposed by his French counterpart sounded realistic, Trump replied:"It does", adding he thought Rouhani would also be in favor. "I think he's going to want to meet. Ithink Iran wants to get this situation straightened out," Trump added.
Trump has put inplace a policy of "maximum pressure" on Tehran over its disputednuclear program via crippling sanctions that are seen as raising the risk ofconflict in the Middle East. The US president last year unilaterally pulled outof a landmark 2015 international deal that placed limits on Tehran's nuclearactivities in exchange for trade, investment and sanctions relief.
Rouhani defendedZarif's Biarritz visit in a speech aired live on state television yesterday."I believe that for our country's national interests we must use anytool," he said. "And if I knew that I was going to have a meetingwith someone that would (lead to) prosperity for my country and people'sproblems would be resolved, I would not hesitate. "The main thing is ourcountry's national interests," he said to a round of applause from thosegathered at an event marking government achievements in rural areas.
But hardlinershave criticized the initiative, with the ultra-conservative Kayhan newspapersaying the trip was "improper" and sent "a message of weaknessand desperation". "These improper measures are taken in the fantasyof an opening but it will definitely have no outcome other than more insolenceand pressure," it added.
Supreme leaderAyatollah Ali Khamenei's representative in the Islamic Revolutionary GuardsCorps also criticized engagement with Iran's foes. Their "hostility andconfrontation with the Islamic Revolution is endless and it cannot be resolvedor reconciled through negotiation and dialogue," said AbdollahHaji-Sadeghi. "We should not expect anything else but aggression, attacks,sedition and hostility" from the enemy, he was quoted as saying by thesemi-official ISNA news agency.
The reformistEtemad newspaper, however, described Zarif's trip to France as "the mosthopeful moment" for Iran in the 15 months since the US withdrew from thenuclear deal. "Given Macron's attempts over the last two months, one canbe hopeful that Trump's response to Macron's ideas has been the main reason forZarif's... trip to Biarritz," it said.
The spike intensions between Iran and the United States has threatened to spiral out ofcontrol in the past few weeks, with ships mysteriously attacked, drones downedand tankers seized. Rouhani said his government was ready to use "bothhands" of power and diplomacy. "They may seize our ship somewhere...we will both negotiate... and we may seize their ship for legal reasons,"he said, referring to an Iranian oil tanker seized off Gibraltar that has sincebeen released and a British-flagged vessel still impounded by Iran in the Gulf.
"We can workwith two hands... the hand of power and the hand of diplomacy," said theIranian president. "We must use both our power, our military and securitypower, economic and cultural power and our political power. We must negotiate.We must find solutions. We must reduce problems. "Even if the probabilityof success... is 10 percent, we must endeavor and go ahead. We must not loseopportunities."
Macron has urgedthe US administration to offer some sort of sanctions relief to Iran, such aslifting sanctions on oil sales to China and India, or a new credit line toenable exports. In return, Iran would return to complying with the 2015 deal.Commenting on the talks about Iran at the G7, German Chancellor Angela Merkelsaid: "It's a big step forward. Now there is an atmosphere in which talksare welcomed."
Appearing torefer to Iran's recent combative rhetoric about its ability to attack USinterests, Trump suggested Iran would meet "violent force" if itfollowed through on its threats. "They can't do what they were saying theywere going to do because if they do that, they will be met with really veryviolent force. So I think they are going to be good," he said. Trump saidhe was not open to giving Iran compensation for sanctions on its economy.However he said that the idea under discussion would be for numerous countriesto give Iran a credit line to keep it going.
"No we arenot paying, we don't pay," Trump said. "But they may need some moneyto get them over a very rough patch and if they do need money, and it would besecured by oil, which to me is great security, and they have a lot of oil... sowe are really talking about a letter of credit. It would be from numerous countries,numerous countries."
Thoughpotentially a diplomatic minefield, Macron's gamble with Zarif appears to haveworked out for now, as Trump yesterday endorsed the French president'sinitiative and toned down his usual harsh rhetoric on Tehran. While Trumpreaffirmed Washington's goal of extracting further-reaching securityconcessions from Iran, he said he wanted to see "a really good Iran,really strong", adding that Washington was not looking for regime change.
"I knew(Zarif) was coming in and I respected the fact that he was coming in. We'relooking to make Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well, if theywant," Trump said. "What we want is very simple. It's got to benon-nuclear (as well)," Trump said. "We're going to talk about ballisticmissiles..., about the timing. But they (Iran) have to stop terrorism. I thinkthey are going to change, I really do." Trump said it was too early forhim to meet Zarif himself.
Macron and Trumphailed the common ground found by G7 leaders at their summit, which wasdominated by the Iranian nuclear crisis, global trade tensions and fires in theAmazon. "We have managed to find real points of convergence,unprecedented, very positive, that will allow us to go forward in a very usefulway," Macron told the press conference. Trump said Macron had done a"fantastic job" at the G7. "This was a very special, a veryunified two and a half days and I want to thank you," Trump told his host.
Meanwhile, Iransaid yesterday it had sold the oil aboard the tanker that was released thismonth after being detained for six weeks by the British overseas territory ofGibraltar. The Adrian Darya 1, formerly named the Grace 1, was seized byGibraltar police and British special forces on July 4 on suspicion of shippingoil to Syria in breach of European Union sanctions.
"The IslamicRepublic of Iran has sold the oil of this ship and right now the owner andbuyer of the oil decides... what the destination of the consignment willbe," Iranian government spokesman Ali Rabiei said, quoted by state media.He did not identify the buyer or say whether the oil had been sold before orafter the tanker's detention in the Strait of Gibraltar, on Spain's southerntip.
A court in theBritish territory ordered the tanker's release on Aug 15 despite a last-minutelegal bid by the United States to have it detained. The Adrian Darya 1 set sailthree days later for the eastern Mediterranean, carrying 2.1 million barrels ofoil worth more than $140 million. The tanker's final port of call is unknown.It had initially listed its destination as Kalamata, Greece before switching itto Mersin, Turkey.
It is now locatedin the middle of the Mediterranean, its target listed as "for order"meaning it is waiting for its next destination, according to the websiteMarineTraffic. Rabiei said the sale and delivery of the oil would go aheaddespite the ship being tracked by the United States. "The destination isdetermined by the owner of the oil," the Iranian government spokesmansaid, according to state television. He accused the United States of"constantly monitoring" the tanker and threatening other countriesnot to receive it. "This is more evidence for America's interference atthe global level," he said. - Agencies