Who offered what and who denied what are being disputed, but one thing
that seems clear is that the US and Iran have come out of the week of
the UN General Assembly with no agreement to meet.
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani reported that he was given an offer by EU
officials on behalf of Trump, in which the US offered full sanction
relief for talks with Iran. This was apparently when Iran made
statements over the past two days saying they wanted the US to return to
the P5+1 deal as the condition for talks.
President Trump, however, said “of course” he didn’t offer that,
or indeed any sanctions relief for talks. He added that the US remains
committed to maximum sanctions against Iran going, including prohibiting
them from selling any oil.
This has been why EU efforts to get the two sides together have
continually failed. Iran wants assurances that any US offer is sincere
and not going to evaporate at a moment’s notice in the future, while
Trump doesn’t want to be accused of giving up anything for talks with
Iran.
Trump Denies Offering Iran Sanctions Relief for Talks
Iran's Rouhani says US offer was rejected
Jason Ditz is Senior Editor for Antiwar.com. He has 20 years of experience in foreign policy research and his work has appeared in The American Conservative, Responsible Statecraft, Forbes, Toronto Star, Minneapolis Star-Tribune, Providence Journal, Washington Times, and the Detroit Free Press.
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