US Secretary of State Marco Rubio on Monday said that President Donald Trump saved the world from a tremendous amount of trouble.
His remarks come as a US official on Monday told CNN, said that US President Donald Trump is willing to give Iran sanctions relief and release frozen funds as part of a final deal, but only if Tehran offers “concrete progress” on the nuclear issue, as mediators sought to bring both countries back to the negotiating table.
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"That's what the President prevented," Rubio says. "He saved the world a tremendous amount of trouble."
US President Donald Trump acted to prevent Iran from reaching a "line of immunity", where Tehran could build up enough missiles, drones and other weapons to make military action against its nuclear programme far more difficult, Fox News reported.
The United States is having “positive and constructive discussions through the mediators,” the official said, while noting that there would be no deal unless nuclear issues were addressed. Trump on Saturday (local time) rejected Iran’s latest proposal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz, calling it “unacceptable.”
In an interview with Fox News, Rubio said that Iran's broader strategy was to strengthen its conventional arsenal, deter outside intervention and then move towards a potential nuclear breakout.
Meanwhile, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday (local time) that Tehran had held further indirect talks with the United States through Qatari mediators in New York, as reported by Al Jazeera. He said Iran was awaiting an official response from Washington, which it “hopefully” expected by Tuesday.
Speaking to reporters, Araghchi said articulating Iran’s stance on regional tensions and the critical security situation in the Strait of Hormuz was the focal point of his visit during last week’s United Nations General Assembly session.
According to Al Jazeera, the Iranian foreign minister reiterated that Tehran had put forward a fair and logical plan to resolve the crisis and reopen the vital shipping lane, provided specific conditions were met. “Our mission was to communicate these conditions to the American side as well as to all other nations, ensuring the international community is aware that Iran has a plan in this regard,” Araghchi said.
Meanwhile, Iran defended its recent strikes on US military installations as acts of self-defense during the United Nations General Assembly on Monday, and also warned that any further aggression from neighbouring countries would trigger a devastating response.
Speaking after the UN General Assembly’s general debate concluded, Nasser Assadi Nazari, third counsellor at Iran’s permanent mission to the UN, said Tehran had exercised restraint and targeted only US military installations and assets.
“Our defensive acts against the US military infrastructure were carried out in the exercise of our inherent right to self-defense. Yet, to date, Iran has exercised the utmost restraint in conducting such lawful acts. Our response was confined to US military installations and assets. Any further aggression against Iran from regional countries will be met with the most devastating response,” he said.
(With inputs from agencies)
