US Has to Give Up Maximum Pressure Policy against Iran
According To Iran News, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani highlighted the ineffectiveness of the US government’s “maximum pressure policy” against the Islamic Republic and said Washington has to abandon it sooner or later.
“In the current situation where the US is standing against nations with its unilateral sanctions, we should strive to maintain and continue good relations and cooperation,” Rouhani said at a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Tehran on Monday.
“Certainly, the situation is temporary and the US will have to give up maximum pressure (policy) on Iran sooner or later, before or after its presidential election,” he added.
Referring to the ties between Iran and India, Rouhani said, “There is no doubt that with the strong will of the two governments and the two great nations of Iran and India, relations and cooperation will be further developed in the future.”
The Indian top diplomat, for his part, described the recent meeting of the joint economic commission of the two countries as “constructive and effective” and said Tehran and New Delhi should strive to further develop the relations and cooperation in various areas, especially economy.
Jaishankar arrived in Tehran on Sunday to take part in the 19th meeting of Iran-India Joint Commission, co-chaired by him and Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif.
The Indian foreign minister’s trip to Iran came after a senior Trump administration official announced that Washington has provided a rare exemption to India from sanctions on the Chabahar port in Iran as it recognizes that the strategic project is a lifeline for war-torn Afghanistan to get humanitarian supplies from India.
Chabahar is a port city on the east coast of the Sea of Oman. It is strategically crucial as it gives access route to landlocked Afghanistan. Chabahar port, which is surrounded by a free trade zone, is vital particularly since Pakistan does not allow transit facility from India to Afghanistan.
