Iran sees no prospect of negotiations with US

International Desk: Iranian officials on Tuesday said they see no benefit to negotiating with President Trump or members of his administration as tensions between the two nations have reached the highest point in years.

Abbas Mousavi, a foreign ministry spokesman, said at a news conference in Tehran that Iran's government "currently see[s] no prospect of negotiations with America," according to Reuters.

“Iran pays no attention to words; What matters to us is a change of approach and behavior," he reportedly added.

The comments come just a day after Trump reiterated his belief to reporters that Iranian officials would return to the negotiating table following the announcement of a U.S. deployment of around 1,500 troops to the Middle East alongside a carrier strike group that was previously ordered to the Persian Gulf earlier this month.

“I really believe that Iran would like to make a deal, and I think that’s very smart of them, and I think that’s a possibility to happen," Trump told reporters on Monday.

Iran's government and others have denounced the U.S. decision to deploy further forces to Iraq and other areas as an escalation of tensions, while the Trump administration has maintained that such a move is necessary to counter threats to existing U.S. holdings from Iran or Iranian-backed forces.

Trump said Monday that he would not push for regime change in the country, while reiterating the U.S. position against the acquisition of nuclear weapons by Iran.

"I’m not looking to hurt Iran at all. I’m looking to have Iran say, ‘no nuclear weapons,'" Trump told reporters at a press conference in Japan.


risingbd/Dhaka/May 28, 2019/AI