Free Republic

President Emmanuel Macron urged his Iranian counterpart Hassan Rohani to join France, Britain and Germany in sticking to the terms of their 2015 nuclear agreement, despite U.S. President Donald Trump's decision to withdraw from the accord. In a telephone call a day after Trump unilaterally announced he was pulling out of the agreement and would reimpose sanctions on Iran, Macron said his aim was to "preserve regional stability." "The French president emphasized the willingness of France to continue enforcing the Iran nuclear agreement in all respects," the Elysee said in a statement after the call. "He underlined the importance that...

“Have a nice day”—this is how Iranian President Hassan Rohani concluded his phone conversation with US President Barack Obama, the first direct contact between leaders of the two nations in over three decades. A message on Rohani’s Twitter page, which has since been deleted, stated that Obama answered in Farsi by saying “khodahafez” to indicate goodbye, whose literal meaning is “may God be with you.” The tweet was one of several Rohani posted after the historic phone conversation. He noted that Obama had phoned him and told him he was positive that relations between Iran and the US would have...

Iran's new president says 'Zionist regime' is a 'wound that should be removed' as millions mark al-Quds Day. Netanyahu: Rohani's true face exposed sooner than expected Ahmadinajed: A devastating storm will uproot basis of Zionism Iran's new president has called Israel an "old wound" that should be removed in comments published just two days ahead of his inauguration and as millions of Iranians took to the streets to mark al-Quds Day. Hassan Rohani's remarks about Israel - his country's archenemy - echo those of other Iranian leaders. Iran's semi-official ISNA news agency says Rohani spoke after taking part in an...

Hassan Rohani, Iran's new President, is being termed a “moderate” in Western media, but it appears that his moderation stops when it comes to Israel. In his first speech as Iran's new leader, Rohani quickly launched into a diatribe against Israel, blaming the Jewish state for Iran's economic problems. Those problems largely have their roots in the sanctions imposed by the West on Iran, the result of the previous government's refusal to allow international inspectors into some of its nuclear facilities, and its insistence at enriching uranium at a level that would allow Tehran to build nuclear weapons. Western countries...

Confusion Over Iran Negotiator TEHRAN (Reuters) - Confusion surrounded the future of Iran's top nuclear negotiator Hassan Rohani on Wednesday with conflicting accounts over whether he had resigned. Rumors over Rohani's fate began circulating after the presidential election win on June 24 of hardline former Tehran mayor Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who many diplomats and analysts expect to adopt a tougher nuclear policy stance. Citing an "informed source" the official IRNA news agency said on Wednesday Rohani had sent his resignation letter to outgoing President Mohammad Khatami. The report gave no reason for Rohani's decision to quit his post as secretary of...