Iranian President Hassan Rouhani suggested that if a meeting with President Donald Trump were to take place that the United States would have to bow down to Iran and repent from “economic terrorism” against Iran.
“Those who have imposed sanctions on our people, and have carried out economic terrorism – any change in our conduct toward them must start with their repentance,” Rouhani said in a video translated by the Middle East Media Research Institute. “They must return to their obligations, and change the erroneous path they have chosen. They must act in the service of the world’s interests and security, while maintaining respect for the other. They must recognize our revolution, our regime, and the rights of our people, and they must reject their mistakes. With regard to the relations between Iran and America – unless America gives up the sanctions and rejects the erroneous path it has chosen, we will see no positive change.”
“If you lift all the sanctions and bow down before the Iranian people, the circumstances will be different,” Rouhani continued. “We want to resolve the issues and problems in a reasonable manner, but we are not interested in photo-ops. If someone wants to have his photo taken with Hassan Rouhani – well, that’s impossible. It can be done with Photoshop, but a real photo is impossible, unless one day they lift all their unjust sanctions, and respect the rights of the Iranian people. Then we would be talking about new circumstances, and we could reconsider it.”
The remarks out of Iran come after the nation has experienced many months of crippling sanctions imposed on it by the U.S.
The U.S. continued to crack down on Iranian networks on Thursday, designating a Lebanon bank that has ties to Hezbollah a “global terrorist.”
“Treasury is targeting Jammal Trust Bank and its subsidiaries for brazenly enabling Hezbollah’s financial activities,” Under Secretary for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence Sigal Mandelker said in a statement. “Corrupt financial institutions like Jammal Trust are a direct threat to the integrity of the Lebanese financial system. Jammal Trust provides support and services to Hezbollah’s Executive Council and the Martyrs Foundation, which funnels money to the families of suicide bombers.”
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