Iranian president calls US relations ‘a curvy road’
TEHRAN, Iran — Iran’s newly re-elected President Hassan Rouhani on Monday called relations with the United States “a curvy road,” saying he hoped the Trump administration will “settle down” enough for his nation to better understand it.
Rouhani also criticized Saudi Arabia after it just hosted President Donald Trump’s first foreign trip, saying that the kingdom “has never seen a ballot box” while Iran just hosted a successful presidential election in which over 40 million people voted.
“The Americans do not know our region, that’s what the catch is,” Rouhani said in response to a question from The Associated Press. “Those who provide consultations or advice to the Americans, unfortunately, they are the rulers who either push America awry or with money, they just buy some people in America.”
Rouhani decisively won a presidential election on Friday, securing another four-year term. The vote served as a referendum on Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers, as well as a vote of confidence that his government will be able to help the country’s sputtering economy. Trump has threatened to try to renegotiate the deal.
Rouhani said that Iranians are “waiting for this (U.S.) government to be civil” and that “hopefully, things will settle down … so we could pass more accurate judgments.”
Rouhani further criticized the Saudi summit that Trump attended on Sunday, describing it as a “show-off” that “will not have any political and practical values.”
“The issue of terrorism cannot be solved through giving money to superpowers,” Rouhani said.
Rouhani also defended Iran’s ballistic missile program, something heavily criticized by Trump’s new administration.
“The U.S. leaders should know that whenever we need a missile test because of a technical aspect, we will test,” he said. “We will not wait for them and their permission.”
Rouhani added: “Our missiles are for peace, not for attack.”