Iran President, UK PM Call for Expansion of Bilateral Ties

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani says his country is ready to expand ties with London in all fields.

In a meeting with the UK Prime Minister, Theresa May, on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York, Rouhani said the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) was signed between Iran and world powers following hard and lengthy efforts.

“So all the involved sides need to stick to their commitments under the nuclear deal,” he added.

President Rouhani went on saying the UK’s support for JCPOA is of great significance and added the world is now closely monitoring the fate of the nuclear deal because the deal will show whether or not diplomacy can successfully play any role in resolving today’s crises.

He said facilitating banking relations between Iran and the UK can pave the way for further economic ties between the two sides.

Iran’s president also highlighted Tehran’s constructive role in fight against regional terrorism and said the country is ready to establish good relations with the UK in war on terror.

Touching on the upcoming independence referendum by Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government, he called the vote a dangerous move and said the regional states including Iran, Turkey, Iraq and Syria are against the plebiscite.

He expressed hope the UK government plays a constructive role in this regard by convincing the Iraqi Kurds to cancel the secession vote.

“We are not against the prosperity of Iraqi Kurds but they need to press ahead with their plans within Iraq’s sovereignty,” he said.

Iranian president also referred to the humanitarian crisis in Yemen and said the first step to resolve the crisis is to stop airstrikes.

“Then the Yemenis have to be provided with humanitarian aid. Finally, the conflicting sides of Yemen must sit for talks to restore peace and security in the war-torn country,” he added.

For her part, the UK prime minister called for expansion of ties between Tehran and London.

May voiced her full support for JCOPA and said “as I said in my address to the General Assembly, the nuclear deal is highly important and we remain committed to the deal. Meanwhile, we need to make sure nothing is threatening it.”

She called on the involved sides including the US to stick to their commitments under JCOPA.

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