Iran’s semiofficial Tasnim news agency on Friday quoted a top commander in Iran’s Revolutionary Guard as saying Tehran would not negotiate with the United States. The statement followed U.S. President Donald Trump’s indirect invitation to Iranian leaders to give him a call.
Trump called for negotiations with Iran several times on Thursday. He told reporters, “What I’d like to see with Iran, I’d like to see them call me.”
But Tasnim on Friday quoted Gen. Yadollah Javani as saying “there will be no negotiations with America.” He also said the United States would not dare to take military action against Iran.
Show of force
On Thursday, the USS Abraham Lincoln aircraft carrier strike group and four B-52 bomber aircraft arrived in the Middle East in response to concerns that Iran might be planning an attack against American targets.
The carrier strike group completed its transit Thursday through the Suez Canal, U.S. Central Command spokesman Navy Capt. William Urban told VOA. He also said two B-52 bombers arrived in the region Thursday, while two others arrived Wednesday.
The bombers are now positioned at the al-Udeid Air Base in Qatar, a defense official confirmed on condition of anonymity.
The request for more military assets in the Middle East was “in direct response to a number of troubling and escalatory indicators and warnings” from Iran, CENTCOM commander Marine Gen. Kenneth “Frank” McKenzie Jr. said Wednesday in Washington.
Air Force Chief of Staff Gen. David Goldfein told VOA the swift military movement “sends a message that we can face any threat at a time and place of our choosing.”
The American military assets arrived in the Middle East as European leaders denounced threats from Iran that it would stop curbing its nuclear program, a move that would breach a landmark global agreement.
Hours before new sanctions were imposed Wednesday by the United States, President Hassan Rouhani said Iran would enrich uranium beyond allowable limits if world powers didn’t protect Iran from the sanctions within 60 days.
“We reject any ultimatums and we will assess Iran’s compliance on the basis of Iran’s performance regarding its nuclear-related commitments,” the European Union and the foreign ministers of Britain, France and Germany said Thursday in a joint statement.
Support for accord
The European leaders also said they wanted to preserve the 2015 agreement, which requires Iran to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the elimination of sanctions. The deal was signed by China, Britain, France, Germany, Russia, the U.S. and the EU. The U.S. abandoned the agreement one year ago.
Trump introduced new sanctions Wednesday on Iranian metal exports, major sources of revenue for the country. The U.S. had previously slapped sanctions on Iranian oil, which have devastated its economy.
The sanctions have created a quandary for Washington’s European allies, which have said they share concerns about Iran’s behavior but believe Trump’s strategy will most likely backfire.
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