United Nations (United States) (AFP) – European leaders held out hope Tuesday of arranging a last-minute summit to ease tensions between Iran and the United States, but President Donald Trump vowed no let-up in pressure.
With world leaders gathered in New York for the annual UN General Assembly, French President Emmanuel Macron made a fresh push for Trump to meet his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.
Escorting a smiling Rouhani to a meeting with British Prime Minister Boris Johnson, Macron said that time was running short.
“If he leaves the country without meeting with President Trump, honestly this is a lost opportunity because he will not come back in a few months,” Macron said.
“And President Trump will not go to Tehran, so they have to meet now,” he said, as Johnson voiced agreement.
Macron has spearheaded efforts to arrange a historic summit, selling Trump on the idea last month as he hopes to salvage a 2015 denuclearization accord with Iran.
But tensions have flared anew after attacks this month on Saudi Arabia’s oil infrastructure. The United States blamed Iran, a finding backed this week by France, Britain and Germany.
In a speech full of praise of unilateralism and criticism of China, Trump made clear he would not ease economic pressure on Iran — a condition set by Rouhani for any meeting.
“As long as Iran’s menacing behavior continues, sanctions will not be lifted. They will be tightened,” Trump told the General Assembly.
“All nations have a duty to act. No responsible government should subsidize Iran’s bloodlust,” he said.
– Fearing flare-up –
Trump last year pulled out of the nuclear agreement and imposed punishing sanctions.
Rouhani — responding to Trump’s speech in an interview with Fox News, which the tycoon president is known to watch avidly — said that the withdrawal from the nuclear accord had badly shaken confidence.
“We must create mutual trust,” Rouhani said. “If the government of the United States of America is willing to talk, it must create the needed conditions.”
But German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who also called for a Rouhani-Trump meeting, said after seeing the two leaders that Iran’s condition on sanctions was “unrealistic,” although Macron said that “conditions have been met for a rapid resumption of negotiations.”
Macron warned in a speech to the General Assembly of further risks in the Middle East, where Saudi Arabia is also mounting a devastating air campaign in Yemen.
“The risk is that there would be a flare-up based on a miscalculation or disproportionate response,” Macron said.
“I am not naive and I don’t believe in miracles but rather in the courage to make peace, and I believe that the United States, Iran and all signatories of this (nuclear) accord have that courage,” he said.
– Calls multiply for dialogue –
Despite his strong words, Trump is known for his fondness of made-for-television drama, as witnessed in his three meetings with North Korean strongman Kim Jong Un, and for following last-minute gut instincts.
Pakistani Prime Minister Imran Khan said that both Trump and Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed bin Salman, whom he met on his way to New York, had asked him to mediate with Iran.
“Trump asked me that if we could de-escalate the situation and maybe come up with another deal,” Khan told reporters.
Pakistan has a close relationship with Saudi Arabia but also maintains ties with Iran, representing its interests in the United States.
Trump, however, said Monday that he was “not looking for any mediators,” saying of Iran, “they know who to call.”
– Trump attacks China –
In a speech heavy on domestic themes, Trump ripped into China and vowed to stand firm in a simmering trade dispute that has led to repeated rounds of tariffs and counter-tariffs.
The United States charges that China has rampantly stolen intellectual property.
“For years, these abuses were tolerated, ignored or even encouraged,” Trump said.
“But as far as America is concerned, those days are over,” he said.
He also said the United States was watching China’s handling of Hong Kong, the financial hub where protesters have taken to the streets against attempts to infringe on its special status.
Trump also renewed his attack on international governance, saying: “The future does not belong to globalists. The future belongs to patriots.”
Hailing Trump was Brazil’s far-right President Jair Bolsonaro, a bugbear of environmentalists who has championed agriculture in the Amazon.
He rejected as media scaremongering the criticism of wildfires that have raged in the rainforest, which serves as a vast carbon sink by sucking up emissions behind fast-rising temperatures.
But other leaders took issue with Trump’s tone. Chilean President Sebastian Pinera declared in his speech, “There is nothing incompatible between thinking globally and being a patriot.”