Dr Rouhani: Macron's efforts only fruitful if Trump’s sanctions lifted

preconditions must be lifted first

The President said that the French President’s efforts would only bear fruit if Trump’s sanctions against Iran are lifted, which could then result in negotiation within the framework of P5+1.

Speaking in a meeting with senior US media executives on Tuesday morning in New York, Dr Hassan Rouhani said, “The continuation of sanctions that have been enforced as maximum pressure means setting preconditions to negotiation by the US, while we believe that any precondition must be removed before any negotiation”.

"It is a shame that the basis for accusing Iran of attacking Aramco is simply that they do not want to accept that the Yemeni army has the capability to launch missile and drone strikes," the President added.

He also said, “This means that those who accuse Iran have no realistic estimation of the Yemeni military developments, and have closed their eyes, relying merely on speculations”.

Dr Rouhani continued, “The weakness of American radars and massive defence equipment on the alleged route of these missiles and drones cannot be denied and the Yemenis have in fact humiliated the US and warned Saudi suppliers of weapons".