U.S. President Donald Trump says he never agreed to lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for talks, disputing an earlier assertion by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani.Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on them in order to meet. I said, of course, NO!— Donald J. Trump (@realDonaldTrump) FILE – Fires burn in the distance after a strike on Saudi company Aramco’s oil processing facilities, in Buqayq, Saudi Arabia, Sept. 14, 2019, in this still image taken from a social media video.U.S. and Saudi officials have blamed Iran for attacks on Saudi oil installations, which shut down half of that country’s oil production. Iranian officials, including Rouhani, have denied Tehran was involved.While many world leaders held talks on the sidelines of the U.N. meetings this week, a meeting between Trump and Rouhani did not occur. Trump said this past Sunday he had no intention of talking with Rouhani, and the Iranian president has said he would not meet with Trump until the United States lifts economic sanctions.The U.S. president announced new sanctions against Iran’s national bank recently, further escalating economic pressure on the Islamic Republic, but pulling back from any direct military action.The United States previously imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran because of its alleged nuclear program; but, the U.S. Treasury Department said Friday the latest sanctions were imposed because Iran’s central bank engaged in “terrorism” by providing “billions of dollars” to the Islamic Revolutionary Guards Corps and Hezbollah.
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