Potential meeting between U.S., Iran presidents during UN General Assembly

Eslam Mohamed

With the United Nations General Assembly meetings approaching, analysis have suggested several theories, including a potential meeting between presidents of the United States and Iran to discuss their conflicts and ease tensions.

On the other hand, Iran said on Monday there would be no meeting between Iranian President Hassan Rouhani and his U.S. counterpart Donald Trump at the United Nations, Iranian state television reported, after the White House on Sunday left open the possibility of a potential meeting.

“Neither is such an event (Trump-Rouhani meeting in New York) on our agenda, nor will it happen. Such a meeting will not take place,” Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Mousavi said in remarks carried by state TV.

Donald Trump and his top officials reportedly discussed the possibility of easing sanctions on Iran on Monday, as a means of engineering a meeting with Iran’s president, Hassan Rouhani, at this month’s UN general assembly.

According to the account by Bloomberg News, the then national security adviser, John Bolton, argued forcefully against such a meeting, a day before his abrupt departure from the White House.

Iran said that it will release a UK-flagged oil tanker it has detained for nearly two months. The Stena Impero will be released “in days,” said Mousavi. The judicial process for the release of the vessel is almost finalized and once bureaucratic procedures have been cleared the ship can leave Iran, he said.

Seven crew members of the Swedish-owned tanker which was seized by Iran on July 19 will be released on humanitarian grounds according to the CEO of Stena Bulk, the company which owns the tanker.

The release date has not yet been revealed, and the remaining 16 crew members of the British-flagged tanker will stay on board to safely operate the vessel.

The Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps of Iran took control of the Stena Impero tanker on July 19, while it was making its way through the Strait of Hormuz, a narrow entry point to the Gulf.

Since then then ship has been held offshore near the Iranian port of Bandar Abbas. The tanker’s 23 crew members have been detained on board since then.

For his part, researcher in Iranian affairs, Mohammad Alaeddin, said that Tehran and Washington want dialogue undoubtedly, as Iran has been hurt a lot because of the sanctions, and the US wants to renegotiate the nuclear agreement.

He also added in an interview to The Reference that during the meetings, Trump and Rouhani would be in the same place, which could be a diplomatic chance for a summit between the two presidents, pointing out that Iran wants to evade the sanctions without providing any sacrifices.