Following a televised press conference by United States President Donald Trump telling Iran to “call me” a top Iranian commander in the Revolutionary Guard said Friday that Tehran will not have any talks with the US.
“There will be no negotiations with America,” said General Yadollah Javani, the Associated Press reported, citing the semi-official Iranian news agency Tasnim.
Javani also claimed that the US wouldn’t dare take any military action against the Islamic Republic but did not provide further details.
Tensions between Tehran and Washington have escalated since an announcement by the US National Security Advisor John Bolton last Sunday that America will be deploying bomber task forces to the Middle East to send a message to Iran following imposed economic and oil sanctions.
Iranian President Hasasn Rouhani warned on Wednesday that Iran would resume its nuclear program in 60 days if the P5+1 countries refused to take measures to protect the Islamic Republic from US sanctions.
The Iranian nuclear deal, also known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was an agreement signed in Vienna on July 14, 2015 under the Obama administration between Iran and the P5+1 countries which included five permanent members of the UN Security Council – the United States, UK, Russia, France and China plus Germany - to curb Iran’s nuclear program.
“If the five countries came to the negotiating table and we reached an agreement, and if they could protect our interests in the oil and banking sectors, we will go back to square one,” said Rouhani in a televised address on Wednesday.
US President Trump announced the US’ withdrawal from the JCPOA on May 8 last year with international re-imposed sanctions going into effect in November and additional sanctions imposed last week.
“The Iranian people and the world should know that today [Wednesday] is not the end of the JCPOA,” Iranian President Rouhani warned.
