September 06, 2019
President Trump says both Iran and the United States would like to talk, but the Islamic Republic does know how to go about it.
He said, “Iran would like to talk” because of poor economic conditions in the country. “Iran would like to talk, but they just don’t know how to get there,” he said without explaining what he was thinking
Referring to Iranians as a “very proud people,” Trump said, “But their economy is crashing, it’s crashing. Inflation is through the roof. They’re doing really badly.”
Insisting that “we can do something fast,” Trump said, “They are not selling oil. Even, I mean we put the sanctions on, the oil is selling much less, I mean much less than what we thought. It’s like a trickle and they very much want to make a deal.”
Meanwhile, Ali Shamkhani, secretary of Iran’s Supreme National Security Council, told NBC News that the Trump Administration’s pressure campaign would not force Tehran back into negotiations.
Asked if he opposed the 2015 nuclear deal, known formally as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, Shamkhani said “Yes…. I’m just following the viewpoints of my nation, the people of Iran.”
“There are people in my country who have that feeling,” he said.
He criticized Trump’s decision to withdraw from the deal last year and impose sanctions on Iran, saying, “The sanctions campaign is not for negotiation. It’s for making us surrender.”
“As long as this approach is taken by the United States, Iran will never ever seek negotiations,” he said. “Just walk the streets of Tehran and see how energetic our people are and you will realize that [what the US has] been trying to achieve has not materialized.”