DUBAI: Iran will overcome US sanctions by either bypassing them or through negotiations, and it will not cross its red lines in any talks with arch-adversary Washington, President Hassan Rouhani said on Wednesday.
Tensions have soared between Tehran and Washington since last year, when President Donald Trump pulled the United States out of Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on Tehran that have crippled its oil-based economy.
The Islamic Republic has rejected negotiating a new deal with the Trump administration, saying talks are only possible if Washington returns to the nuclear pact and lifts sanctions.
“The government is determined to defeat (the enemy) by bypassing America’s sanctions...or through various means including talks, but we will not cross our red lines,” the semi-official Iranian news agency ISNA quoted Rouhani as saying. In a rare act of cooperation between Tehran and Washington, the United States and Iran each freed a prisoner on Saturday.
Washington said it was hopeful that the prisoner swap would lead to the release of other Americans held in Iran and that it was a sign Tehran was willing to discuss other issues.
Iran released Xiyue Wang, a US citizen who had been held for three years on spying charges, while the United States freed Iranian Massoud Soleimani, who had faced charges of violating US sanctions against Tehran.
Iran said on Monday there were about 20 Iranians jailed in the United States in cases linked to sanctions violations.
Rouhani: Iran will bypass US sanctions or overcome them through talks
https://arab.news/vrngp
Rouhani: Iran will bypass US sanctions or overcome them through talks
- Tensions have soared between Tehran and Washington since last year
- The Islamic Republic has rejected negotiating a new deal with the Trump administration
Iran missile barrage sparks explosions over Tel Aviv
- Two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city
- Israel’s emergency services confirms plenty of damage but said there were no casualties
TEL AVIV: The latest Iranian missile barrage sparked a wave of explosions across Tel Aviv as firefighters worked to contain a blaze at a residential building near Israel’s commercial hub on Friday.
The blasts came after Israel expanded its campaign against Hezbollah, vowing retribution against the Tehran-backed militant group for joining the conflict following the killing on Saturday of Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei.
Iran’s state broadcaster said Tehran had fired missiles “against targets in the heart of Tel Aviv,” after Israel’s military said it was working to intercept incoming Iranian fire late Thursday.
AFP journalists in Tel Aviv heard two near-simultaneous waves of explosions reverberating across the city.
Rocket trails also lit up the sky in Netanya, a city north of Tel Aviv on Israel’s Mediterranean coast.
After the barrage, Israel’s emergency services, the Magen David Adom (MDA), said its teams had visited several reported impact sites but that there were no casualties.
Israeli police said it was “currently handling scenes involving fallen projectiles in central Israel,” adding that there was “damage” but no injuries.
A projectile hit a building on the outskirts of Tel Aviv, forcing residents to evacuate.
At another residential site near Israel’s economic hub, firefighters worked to put out a blaze caused by falling debris after an Iranian rocket fire was intercepted.
Israel’s Home Front Command issues several rocket fire warnings early Friday for communities near the Lebanon border.
