TEHRAN - Former UN chief Kofi Annan urged U.S. President Donald Trump on Tuesday to reach out and talk to Iran, arguing that Tehran is “part of the solution” to the conflicts in the Middle East.

“It is important to reach out and talk to Iran… Iran is part of the solution and we cannot get away from that fact,” Anan said in a telephone interview with The Associated Press on Tuesday. 

Anan added if he had the chance he would tell Trump his antagonistic policy toward Iran, including labeling it the enemy and a purveyor of terrorism, isn’t going to do anything to bring peace to the Middle East.

During his Middle East tour, Trump signed military deals worth nearly $110 billion with Saudi Arabia and urged Arab leaders to join hands to “isolate Iran” for its financial and military support for “terrorists and militias”, to quote his words. 

“What is required is steps which diffuse tensions and divisions, and not steps which deepen divisions,” Annan said. “And we need to be very careful of what action we take, what we say, because words can soothe, they can calm but they can also provoke and they can also excite.”

Iran categorically denies accusations by the U.S. and Saudi Arabia, saying Saudi Arabia is the real source of funding for Islamist militants.
Already fragile diplomatic ties between Saudi Arabia and Iran were severed last year, after Saudi Arabia executed a Shi'ite cleric and as a result protesters ransacked the Saudi embassy in Iran.

In a press conference on Monday, reelected Iranian President Hassan Rouhani berated Trump and Saudi officials, highlighting that it would be impossible to achieve stability in the Middle East without Tehran's help. 

Rouhani also said the U.S. administration lacked knowledge about the Middle East. 

"The problem is that the Americans do not know our region and those who advise U.S. officials are misleading them."

In making the comments, Rouhani was referring to Saudi dollars funneling into the business-minded Trump administration to induce skewed perceptions about Iran’s sway in the region. 

"Who can say regional stability can be restored without Iran? Who can say the region will experience total stability without Iran?" Rouhani said in the press conference. 

Richard Dalton, a former British ambassador in the Middle East, linked the anti-Iranian tone of the Trump administration to economic considerations. 

"Doubling down on Saudi Arabia has a lot to do with trade and investment considerations. The supporting allies, anti-terrorism and anti-Iranian rhetoric provides a cover for that,” Reuters quoted Dalton as saying. 

AK/NA/PA