Washington 0
24 June 2020

Discussing a 19 June IAEA resolution urging Iran to fully cooperate with the Agency, President Rouhani argued that Israel and the U.S. were “deceiving the IAEA and deviating it from its path… the IAEA must maintain its independence and do not deviate from its legal path under pressure”. He further declared that “Iran is ready to continue to work closely with the IAEA, albeit within the framework of the law and regulations”. Referring to President Trump encouraging Iran to negotiate before U.S. presidential elections, Rouhani maintained: “we are not procrastinating anything for before or after the election, we are always ready… this is simple, an apology to the Iranian nation, compensation, reimbursement and returning to the 5+1 framework can be the solution”. He further assessed that Trump’s “statements are baseless because of the problems they faced for the elections. If it is real, if they do not lie, if they are not looking for solving their own problems, it is easy to apologise and return to the law”. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo subsequently remarked that “We’re happy to engage in conversations with them when the time is right, but the conditions that suggest somehow, we give a bunch of money to the Iranians so they can foment terror around the world is simply ludicrous. It’s just not how this administration behaves”.

Subscribe to Crisis Group’s Email Updates

Receive the best source of conflict analysis right in your inbox.