President Trump took to Twitter Thursday to express frustration over the US “maximum pressure” campaign designed, according to prior statements, to bring the Iranians back to the table to “negotiate a better deal” after the White House’s unilateral pull out of the 2015 nuclear deal brokered under Obama. He slammed EU countries, particularly France, for sending mixed signals.
“Iran is in serious financial trouble,” Trump stated. “They want desperately to talk to the US…”. Of course, all evidence suggests otherwise, which is why the president followed by calling out European powers for thwarting US policy efforts at taking Iranian oil exports down to zero. “I know Emmanuel means well, as do all others, but nobody speaks for the United States but the United States itself,” Trump continued.
….I know Emmanuel means well, as do all others, but nobody speaks for the United States but the United States itself. No one is authorized in any way, shape, or form, to represent us!
— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) August 8, 2019
A report in a major Middle East publication Al Monitor claimed Macron had invited Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani to meet with Trump at the G7 summit in Biarritz in late August; however, a follow-up Reuters report quoted a French diplomat as saying the story was false.
The Reuters story stated unambiguously:
Iranian President Hassan Rouhani has not been invited to this month’s G7 summit, a French diplomat said on Wednesday, denying a media report published as European leaders seek a way to defuse a brewing confrontation between Tehran and Washington.
While Trump didn’t specify in his tweet exactly what he was referring to, it appears his words were aimed at the reports that suggested France was claiming to act with US backing, while simultaneously sidestepping US sanctions, which have lately included the US Treasury targeting Iran’s top diplomat, FM Javad Zarif.
via ZeroHedge News https://ift.tt/2YVSsVq Tyler Durden