Rouhani Softens Tone on Future of Relations with US

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says that relations with the United States can be restored to what they were before the Trump Administration took over. “Iran and the US can both decide and announce that they will return to conditions on January 20, 2017,” he said on Wednesday during a speech to the cabinet that was televised. “This can be a great solution to a large number of issues and completely change the path and conditions.” He appeared to set a softer tone than that used by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Tuesday, when Khamenei appeared to say Iran might be able to manage despite crippling US sanctions. “If we can overcome sanctions through hard work and innovation and taking problems as they come, and the other side sees that sanctions are ineffective, they will gradually stop sanctioning,” he said. The Trump Administration, in withdrawing from a 2015 international accord aimed at preventing Tehran from progressing with its nuclear research program, reinstated crippling economic sanctions that had been canceled as part of the deal. Rouhani failed to elaborate when he said Trump’s successor, President-elect Joe Biden, will have to “make up for the incorrect policies” of the previous administration.