26 May, 2017
He also noted that Iran, Russia and Turkey along with other countries can accelerate Astana talks to bring peace, stability and welfare to the region.
After the reelection success of moderate President Hassan Rouhani, the comments from president Trump came thick and fast, saying that Iran has "fueled the fires of sectarian conflict and terrors".
Analysts familiar with Iran's political system quickly responded that those are not things Rouhani could do, as Iranian military operations are not within his sphere of control.
The July 2015 multinational deal froze Iran's nuclear program in return for an end to a variety of oil, trade and financial sanctions on Tehran.
On Wednesday, just two days before Iran's presidential election, Trump announced new sanctions on Iran's ballistic missile program and released the State Department's semiannual report on sanctions related to human rights abuses in Iran.
Rouhani's assertion that "the nuclear accord helped avoid war" is convincing.
Rouhani, who defeated hardline challenger Ebrahim Raisi in Friday s presidential election, responded by ridiculing decades of U.S. strategy in the Middle East.
"Iranian people chose the path of interaction with the world", he said.
The high unemployment rate stems from sluggish investments made by foreign companies, keeping job opportunities from increasing. While the government is buying planes from the likes of Airbus and Boeing, and wooing other big foreign companies, Iran is still struggling to attract global investment.
Iran and Saudi Arabia are fighting multiple proxy wars in the Middle East, most notably in Yemen and Syria. For Rouhani's administration to realize its policies and for the country to contribute to stability in the Middle East, as a regional power, it is essential for the nation to be supported both by public opinion at home and by the global community. Japan's engagement in Iran should be reinforced.
Saudi Arabia is surely now relieved that the visit has given an impression of a favorable shift in the United States policy in the Middle East, one that takes a stronger stance against its archrival Iran.
Iran condemned a suicide attack at a pop concert in Manchester that killed 22 people, but in an apparent swipe at Western security cooperation with Gulf Arab states said "artificial alliances" would not eliminate such threats.
Speaking after meeting Israeli President Reuven Rivlin, Trump said the U.S. and Israel faced "common threats - from [Islamic State] and other terrorist groups, to countries like Iran that sponsor terrorism and fund and foment awful violence". Trump must handle the situation with caution.
Driving Iran into a corner will give hard-line conservatives more sway, which may destabilize the region.
