TEHRAN - Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Monday that the White House has no way out of standoff with Iran except putting an end to its policy of “maximum pressure” on the Islamic Republic. 

Rouhani made the remarks during a meeting with Indian Foreign Minister Subrahmanyam Jaishankar who made a two-day trip to Iran starting on Sunday.

“The current situation will pass. Soon or late, the U.S. has to refrain from adopting the policy of maximum pressure on Iran before or after 2020 presidential election.”

Rouhani also highlighted the importance of restoring security to the region in line with the interests of countries, including Iran and India.

“In line with this policy, Iran has proposed the Hormuz Peace Endeavor, offering suitable breakthroughs for accessing durable peace and security in the region,” Rouhani pointed out.
Rouhani proposed the Hormuz peace initiative during the annual UN General Assembly meeting in September. 

The president said that his country in after de-escalation of tensions in the Persian Gulf and the Sea of Oman

He added, “In current situation that the U.S. has imposed unilateral sanctions against our nation, we (Iran and India) should try hard to expand our relations and cooperation.” 

Rouhani, meantime, pointed to Iran-India joint economic commission, saying it could activate comprehensive ties between the two friendly nations. “We must try to upgrade our trade and economic relations to a suitable and desirable level.” 

The Indian minister, for his part, voiced his country’s readiness to do its best to bolster cooperation between the two countries’ state-run and private sectors. 

On Sunday, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, in a meeting with his Indian counterpart, described relations between Iran and India as “ancient” and “unbreakable”.

Zarif and foreign minister Jaishankar co-chaired the joint economic commission meeting and signed a series of memorandums of understanding. 

MJ/PA