US will have to end ‘maximum pressure’ on Iran: President Rouhani

President Hassan Rouhani says the United States will have to stop its policy of exerting “maximum pressure” on Iran, stressing that the current conditions that stem from that policy are only temporary.

According to Press TV, Rouhani said in a meeting with the visiting Indian Minister of External Affairs Subrahmanyam Jaishankar in Tehran on Monday “Under the current conditions that the United States is imposing unilateral sanctions against [various] nations, we must try to maintain mutual relations and cooperation.”

“There is no doubt that these conditions are temporary and sooner or later, before or after its [forthcoming] presidential election, America will have to give up [its policy of exerting] maximum pressure on Iran,” Iran's president said.

In May 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew from the landmark Iran nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) signed between Tehran and the 5+1 group in 2015, in defiance of global objections and unleashed a “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, under which it has imposed the “toughest ever” sanctions targeting the Iranian economy in order to force Tehran into submitting to its excessive demands.

Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei said in September that Iran will not engage in negotiations with the United States “at any level,” and that Washington's "maximum pressure" campaign against the Iranian nation has failed to achieve its goals.

The Leader added that the US’ maximum pressure strategy consists of “a range of sanctions, threats and rants,” which are meant to bring Iran to the negotiating table but it failed to bring the country to its knees, saying, "In return, we need to prove that the policy is not worth a penny for the Iranian nation.”

Elsewhere in the meeting, Rouhani said Iran seeks to reduce tensions and establish sustainable security in the region, especially in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman, adding that multilateral cooperation of Iran and India with other countries is of high importance in this regard.

He added that both Tehran and New Delhi attach importance to preserving security in the region, saying, "The Islamic Republic of Iran has presented [its] Hormuz Peace Endeavor in this regard which can be a solution to the maintenance of sustainable security and stability in the region."

In an address to the 74th session of the UN General Assembly on September 25, Rouhani invited all countries that are affected by developments in the Persian Gulf to join the country’s initiative for the security of the strategic region.

He said that the “Coalition of HOPE” aims to promote peace, stability, progress and prosperity of littoral states and help achieve mutual understanding and establish peaceful and friendly relations among them.

The Indian foreign minister, for his part, said the ongoing difficult situation facing Iran would certainly end and that the country would remain strong and stable despite all its problems.

He added that the 19th session of the Iran-India joint economic commission held in Tehran on Sunday was constructive and could play an effective role in solving problems in the way of the expansion of bilateral cooperation.

Jaishankar called on the two countries' officials to make more efforts to improve cooperation in different fields, particularly in the trade and economic sectors.

In a post on his official Twitter account on Sunday after co-chairing the 19th session of the Iran-India joint economic commission, Iran's Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif hailed longstanding relations between Iran and its southern Asian ally, emphasizing that relations between Tehran and New Delhi are unbreakable.

ME