Iranian president calls United States relations ‘a curvy road’

Rouhani, who has been critical of the Iranian Revolutionary Guards (IRGC), may face further pressure in his second term as he accused the IRGC militants with “cutting out tongues and sewing mouths shut”.

Mr Rouhani also said Iran would continue its ballistic missile programme, which has been heavily criticised by the Trump administration.

On Saturday, Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, at a news conference with his US counterpart Rex Tillerson in Riyadh, said Iran’s presidential election was an internal matter.

“We derive stability not from “coalitions”, but from our people, who – unlike many – do vote”.

Tillerson and Ross can be seen linking arms during the dance which was part of a celebration of Trump’s visit to Saudi Arabia, The Hill reported Sunday.

“We are waiting for the new U.S. administration to find stability and continuity in its policies”, he added. His supporters look to Rouhani – instrumental in pushing the US-Iran nuclear deal, ending sanctions and allowing foreign investment – to further Iran’s engagement with the world and prevent global isolation.

Hasni Abidi, head of the Geneva-based Study and Research Centre for the Arab and Mediterranean World (CERNAM), also spoke of a “break in United States policy”.

The United States and other critics in the West accuse Tehran of sponsoring worldwide terrorism and destabilizing the region, and Iran is still targeted by USA sanctions over its weapons programs and perceived rights violations.

Washington and Riyadh agreed deals totalling some US$380 billion (340 billion euros). Saudi Arabia immediately cut diplomatic ties and other Sunni Arab countries in the Gulf have taken a harder line on Iran since.

“If Iran wants to be a normal country and wants others to treat it like a normal country, it has to act in accord with worldwide law and the values and the mores of the global system that have existed for centuries”, said Minister Al-Jubeir.

“I hope that the day will come that Saudi Arabia will adopt this path”, he said.

The councils have opened up Iran’s political system in the time since. That would “make it even more complicated for Trump to try to renegotiate the nuclear deal”, Nuseibeh said. “Unfortunately, Americans have always made mistakes in our region”.

One way the Guards could re-assert their dominance at home would be to stoke more confrontation overseas, where they provide the shock troops for Iran’s interventions in Iraq, Syria and elsewhere in the Middle East. “We will not wait for them and their permission”.

It is a “transactional deal” in which the Arab states would help Washington revive the peace process in exchange for a much tougher U.S. policy against Iran, he said.