Iranian foreign ministry: Trump will have to call Tehran to begin talks

"I don't know whether he was making a joke, but there is a greater chance that he will call Tehran and want to begin negotiations [than the other way around]."

By SAMUEL THROPE
Updated: JULY 17, 2018 03:00
US President Donald Trump holds up a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement after signing it in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, May 8, 2018 (photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump holds up a proclamation declaring his intention to withdraw from the JCPOA Iran nuclear agreement after signing it in the Diplomatic Room at the White House in Washington, May 8, 2018
(photo credit: JONATHAN ERNST / REUTERS)
US President Donald Trump will have to call Iran to begin negotiations with the Islamic Republic, Iranian foreign ministry spokesperson Bahram Qassemi said Monday, according to a report by BBC’s Persian-language service.
“There were some signs of this in the past,” Qassemi said without elaborating further.
Qassemi was responding to Trump’s statement Thursday that he expects Iran to call him wanting to make a deal.
“Iran at some point will call me and ask for a deal, and we’ll make a deal,” he said. “They are feeling “a lot of pain right now,” he added.
Trump quits Iran nuclear deal, reimposes sanctions on Tehran (Reuters)
The United States withdrew from the 2015 six-country nuclear deal in May, saying at the time that the agreement does not adequately prevent the Islamic Republic from acquiring nuclear weapons and does not address the country’s advanced missile program.
Tensions between the Washington and Tehran have continued to rise against the backdrop of Iran’s military involvement in the Syrian civil war and Iranian backing for Hamas in Gaza.
Qassemi doubted Trump’s comments.
“I don’t know whether he was making a joke or was speaking seriously, but there is a greater chance that he will call Tehran and want to begin negotiations [than the other way around],” the spokesman said.
Qassemi also denied reports that have appeared in the Arabic press that Iranian and Israeli officials spoke during the overlapping visits in Moscow of Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and Ali Akbar Velayati, the senior advisor to Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei earlier this week.
“Such a thing could never be true and I consider it fake news,” he said. “For a person who is familiar with Iran and Iranian politics, this sort of news is closer to satire.”