US ready to engage with Iran’s new administration: White House
The US says it is prepared to work with Iran’s new administration on the nuclear issue after President Hassan Rohani called on Western governments to engage in talks with Tehran on “equal footing.”
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White House Spokesman Jay Carney
“The inauguration of President Rohani presents an opportunity for Iran to act quickly to resolve the international community's deep concerns over Iran's nuclear program," White House spokesman, Jay Carney, said on Sunday.
"Should this new government choose to engage substantively and seriously to ... find a peaceful solution to this issue, it will find a willing partner in the United States," Carney added.
During his swearing-in ceremony on Sunday, the new Iranian president called on Western governments to stop using the language of sanctions to address the Islamic Republic.
“I say candidly that if you want a proper response, speak to Iran not with the language of sanctions but with the language of respect,” Rohani stated.
The new chief executive noted that the only way for interaction with Iran is “dialog on equal footing, mutual confidence-building, mutual respect and reduction of hostilities.”
Iran’s new president took the oath of office on Sunday, one day after being endorsed by Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei.
Rohani won Iran’s June 14 presidential election with 50.7 percent of a total of over 36 million ballots. The voter turnout in the election was 72.7 percent.
Carney further expressed hope that the administration of President Rohani would listen to the will of the voters “by making choices that will lead to a better life for the Iranian people."
The US has imposed several rounds of illegal sanctions on Iran, which Washington claims to be aimed at pressuring Tehran to abandon its nuclear energy program.
In its latest measure against Iran, the US House of Representatives last Wednesday approved a bill to impose tougher sanctions on Tehran’s oil exports and financial sector.
The bill, which must be approved by the Senate and signed by President Barack Obama to become law, seeks to cut Iran's oil exports by one million barrels per day over a year.
Tehran has categorically rejected West's accusations, arguing that as a signatory to the Non-Proliferation Treaty and a committed member of the International Atomic Energy Agency, it is entitled to develop nuclear technology for peaceful purposes.
