Rouhani’s Aide Says Iran Must Negotiate with ‘The West minus Trump’

The bellicose attitude by US President Donald Trump towards traditional allies of Washington and his friendly approach towards Russia indicates the emergence of a widening gap among the US and its allies that could be exploited by Iran to ease the escalating US pressure on the country, an advisor to Iran’s president said.

Referring to the Monday meeting between Trump and his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Finland’s capital of Helsinki, Hesamoddin Ashna said the meeting did not end up in favour of Iran’s adversaries.

“They thought the Helsinki meeting will be a sad day for Iran, but now former US officials and some senators and European figures say it was a sad day for America!” Ashna wrote in a post in his Twitter account, ILNA reported.

Pointing to Trump’s confrontational stance towards US allies showcased in the recent G-7 meeting in Canada and Trump’s visit to Europe this week, Ashna said this behaviour contrasted sharply with Trump’s friendly approach towards Putin.

“Trump has transformed the definition of the West … The Helsinki [meeting] showed that now the West means the coalition between Europe and the [anti-Trump] Americas against Trump’s America,” he said.

Trump’s trip to Belgium, Britain and Finland was marked by his frequent taunts and threats aimed at America’s NATO allies, a sharp contrast to his unrestrained bid to court Russia despite the conclusion by US intelligence agencies that Moscow meddled in the 2016 US election to aid his candidacy, Euronews reported.

In Brussels, Trump sowed confusion and chaos, blasting NATO allies for not contributing enough money for their own defense. Then he called German Chancellor Angela Merkel a “captive” of Moscow for its support of the Nord Stream 2 gas pipeline from Russia, and supported domestic opponents of British Prime Minister Theresa May.

On the eve of his summit with Putin, Trump added insult to injury by calling the EU a “foe” for its trade policies in a CBS interview that aired on Sunday.

That language stood in stark contrast to the scene on Monday at Finland’s presidential palace, where Trump called the Russian leader, accused by the West of all manner of grievances, a “good competitor” and said “I think the word competitor is a compliment.”

The Trump-Putin meeting drew a wave of condemnation by US lawmakers from both Republican and Democratic parties, worried that Trump is creating a chasm among the US and its traditional allies that could be highly dangerous to the US interests.

Ashna said Trump’s controversial measures have created a chance for Iran to draw closer to anti-Trump western leaders.

“This is chance for improving relations with the West. Now we have something called ‘the West minus Trump’,” he said, adding the new definition of the west covers Europe, Canada and a half of US population.

“It’s time for us to enter into talks with the anti-Trump America and the west minus Trump,” he said.

IFP Editorial Staff

The IFP Editorial Staff is composed of dozens of skilled journalists, news-writers, and analysts whose works are edited and published by experienced editors specialized in Iran News. The editor of each IFP Service is responsible for the report published by the Iran Front Page (IFP) news website, and can be contacted through the ways mentioned in the "IFP Editorial Staff" section.