US says door remains open for a wider negotiation with Iran about its nuclear program

Just a day after Iran released American navy veteran, US Special Representative for Iran, Brian Hook, said that the door for “wider negotiations” with Iran about its nuclear program remains open. However, he added that until now, it has only been limited to prisoner releases. Speaking at a press meet, he reiterated the call for the release of Banquer Namazi, Siamak Namazi and Morad Tahbaz, all American citizens jailed in Iran.

 “President Donald Trump has had the door open to diplomacy for many years and in the same time frame, he has met North Korean leader Kim Jong Un three times. So, we would like to see the Iranian regime meet our diplomacy with diplomacy,” he added.

The feud between the US and Iran has escalated in recent times with both lampooning each other. In 2018, US-imposed strict economic sanctions on the Islamist Republic accusing it of manufacturing Nuclear Weapons. Earlier this year, an attack by US-led to the killing of Qassem Soleimani after which Iran fired missiles that accidentally hit a Ukrainian passenger plane.

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Meanwhile, commenting on the US-Iran relationship, Hook said that negotiations between the two nations have not gone far beyond discussing the mutual relation of prison, However, he added that the number of illegally detained US citizen to be released will grow in the coming times.

'To bring Iran to the table' 

When asked if there were any chances of the Trump-led government easing economic sanctions on Tehran, Hook asserted that Washington would continue with the imposed section “ in an effort" to bring the Rouhani government to the negotiation tables. 

“Timidity and weakness invite more Iranian aggression. We refuse to play by that rule book. When you play under house rules, the house always wins. So we are going to continue with our policy,” he said. 

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