Iran's President says agreement possible if US stops coercion

Tehran, May 19 (IANS) Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian said that reaching an agreement with the US is possible if it refrains from applying coercion on Tehran.

Pezeshkian made the remarks on Sunday, in a meeting with visiting Qatari Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman bin Jassim Al Thani in Tehran, according to a statement published on the website of the president's office.

"Reaching an agreement with the United States is achievable. However, making that happen requires a fundamental condition that the American side refrains from the approach of coercion," Pezeshkian said when talking about the ongoing indirect talks between Iran and the United States.

For his part, Al Thani voiced Qatar's support for Iran and its rights, saying that pressure and coercion had proven ineffective when dealing with Iran, "as shown by experience," Xinhua news agency reported.

In a separate meeting with visiting Omani Foreign Minister Sayyid Badr bin Hamad bin Hamood Albusaidi in Tehran on the same day, Pezeshkian praised Oman's "committed and constructive" role in hosting the indirect talks between Tehran and Washington, according to another statement from Pezeshkian's office.

Pezeshkian expressed hope that the talks would lead to a fair agreement that would guarantee sustainable stability in West Asia.

Facilitated by Oman, the Iranian and US delegations have so far held four rounds of indirect talks on Tehran's nuclear program and the lifting of Washington's sanctions since April 12, three in the Omani capital Muscat and one in Italy's Rome.

--IANS

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