Iran rejects talks offer as US reimposes sanctions

TEHRAN: Iran rejected a US offer to

Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May has infuriated European partners who were determined to keep it alive and now

Iran faced with the threat of US legal penalties.

The sanctions that went into effect on Tuesday target Iranian access to US banknotes and key economic sectors including cars and carpets.

Much of the damage has already been done, with Trump’s aggressive rhetoric fuelling a run on the rial in recent months, while wors-

protests against the government’s management of the economy that

Prices have been increasing for three or four months and everything we need has become so expensive, even before sanctions returned,” said Yasaman, a 31-yearold photographer in Tehran.

He said Iran’s leaders may need to “drink the poison cup” and negotiate with the US.

In a statement on Monday just hours before the sanctions went back into force, Trump said: “The Iranian regime faces a choice.

“Either change its threatening, destabilizing behavior and reintegrate with the global economy, or continue down a path of economic isolation.

“I remain open to reaching a more comprehensive deal that addresses the full range of the regime’s malign activities, including its ballistic missile program and its support for terrorism,” Trump said.

But his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani dismissed the idea of talks while crippling sanctions were in force.

“If you’re an enemy and you stab the other person with a knife, and then you say you want negotia-

to do is remove the knife,” he told state television..

“They want to launch psychological warfare against the Iranian nation,” Rouhani said. “Negotiations with sanctions doesn’t make sense.”

Many large European firms are leaving Iran for fear of US penalties, and Trump warned of

and individuals that continued to do business with Iran.

The US sees the sanctions “as a tool to pressure Iran to come back to the negotiating table to rehash the nuclear deal on terms more to Trump’s liking. That is not going to happen,” said John Glaser of the Cato Institute.

Two countries that have welcomed the tough new US policy are Iran’s regional rivals, Israel and Saudi Arabia.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu hailed the renewed sanctions as “an important moment for Israel, for the US, for the region, for the whole world.”

There have been rumors that Trump and Rouhani could meet in New York in September on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly -- though Rouhani reportedly rejected US overtures for a meeting at last year’s event.

There was little word of fresh protests after days of unrest in Mashhad, Isfahan and other major cities — although verifying infor-

severe reporting restrictions.