Talks with US ‘impossible’
UN envoy says ‘economic warfare’ raising stakes, Trump announces more sanctions
Iran’s United Nations ambassador has warned that the situation in the Persian Gulf is “very dangerous” and called talks with the United States impossible in the face of escalating sanctions and intimidation, while the US envoy said the Trump Administration’s aim is to get Tehran back to negotiations.
Recent attacks on tankers and the downing of a US drone played out in comments before and after a closed UN Security Council meeting called by the United States that provided sharply different views of the current situation.
It took place hours after US President Donald Trump signed an executive
order targeting Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and senior Iranian military figures with financial sanctions.
Iranian Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi called the new sanctions another indication of “US hostility” toward the Iranian people.
He said the Trump Administration should de-escalate tensions by stopping “its military adventurism” in the region, withdrawing its “naval armada” and moving away from “economic warfare against the Iranian people”.
Acting US Ambassador Jonathan Cohen outlined the US case for blaming Iran for tanker attacks May 12 and June 13 and for shooting down a US drone the US says was in international airspace on June 20.
Iran denies it attacked the tankers and says the drone was in its airspace.
“Iran must understand that these attacks are unacceptable,” Cohen said, adding that US policy “remains an economic and diplomatic effort to bring Iran back to the negotiating table”.
Ravanchi said he agrees with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres’ call to de-escalate tensions in the Gulf region, but said that is up to the US, not Iran.
He ruled out any talks with the Trump administration, saying: “You cannot start a dialogue with someone who is threatening, who is intimidating you.”
Russia’s UN ambassador, Vassily Nebenzia, referred to the US desire for dialogue with Iran, saying: “Some of the Iranian officials recently said that you cannot have a dialogue with a knife against your throat. What kind of dialogue if you are introducing the worst kind of sanctions ever?”
Trump signed an executive order yesterday targeting Khamenei and his associates with financial sanctions, the latest action the US has taken to discourage Tehran from developing nuclear weapons and supporting militant groups.
“These measures represent a strong and proportionate response to Iran's increasingly provocative actions,” Trump told reporters.
However, Trump indicated the measures against Khamenei and those close to him had been planned ahead of the downing last week of the US drone, saying yesterday: “This was something that was going to happen anyway.”