US-Iran war: Marco Rubio reacts to Modi-Pezeshkian meeting at SCO summit – “There is no trade deal between India and Iran” | Today’s news
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said on September 2 (US time) that he does not think India and Iran are talking about a trade deal and that many countries around the world are talking to the regime in Tehran.
Rubio’s remarks came during an interview on Fox News Radio’s The Brian Kilmeade Show in response to a question about a meeting between Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Iranian President Massoud Pezeshkian on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit earlier this week in Bishkek.
“Well, I don’t think there is a trade deal between India and Iran. Obviously there is — all countries are developing their own foreign policies and many countries around the world are talking to the Iranian regime,” Rubio said in response to Kilmeade’s remark that Modi and Pezeshkian appeared to have struck a trade deal.
PM Modi held a bilateral meeting with Pezeshkian in Bishek. It was the first meeting between the two leaders since the outbreak of the US-Iran war, which has engulfed the Middle East and beyond, following US and Israeli attacks on Tehran earlier this year.
“I mean, we’ve also met with elements of the Iranian regime in terms of some of these discussions that have taken place, and there’s been contact with them,” Rubio said in an interview.
The US Secretary of State said President Donald Trump had made it clear that no country should help Iran evade sanctions.
“No country should be out there helping to create mechanisms that they can use to generate revenue that they can then use to sponsor terrorism and try to build a nuclear weapon. And if countries choose to do that, then we’re going to have to sanction them as well,” Rubio said.
What happened during the Modi-Pezeshkian meeting?
An Iranian text on the Modi-Pezeshkian meeting said the Iranian president expressed “appreciation” for New Delhi’s support and cooperation with Iran during the recent war and stressed the need to intensify diplomatic efforts to bring peace and security to the region.
“From the very beginning of our administration, our efforts have been focused on ensuring peace and security and solving problems through dialogue and negotiation,” Pezeshkian said.
The meeting comes against a backdrop of heightened tensions in West Asia, with Iran targeting US military bases in Jordan. According to a Reuters report citing the Iranian Foreign Ministry, the attack was a response to the US attack on Larak Island.
The President pointed to India’s important position and capabilities in the region and the world, as well as the deep historical and cultural ties between the two nations.
Pezeshkian urged Modi to use India’s extensive contacts with various parties to help them move away from the path of war and bloodshed and back to the path of dialogue and agreement.
No country should help them create mechanisms by which they can generate revenue that they then use to sponsor terrorism and attempt to build a nuclear weapon.
“We believe that the solution to the problems we face lies in dialogue and cooperation, and that all available capacities must be mobilized to prevent the spread of insecurity and conflict,” he said.
