Trump says Iran wanted sanctions lifted, but he said ‘NO!’
President Donald Trump on Friday denied the claim by Iranian President Hassan Rouhani that the United States had offered to remove sanctions in exchange for opening negotiations .
“Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on them in order to meet. I said, of course, NO!,” Trump said in a tweet.
Donald J. Trump✔@realDonaldTrump
Iran wanted me to lift the sanctions imposed on them in order to meet. I said, of course, NO!
Rouhani had said on his website, according to Reuters, that “America says that it will lift the sanctions.”
“It was up for debate what sanctions will be lifted and they had said clearly that we will lift all sanctions,” Rouhani added.
Rouhani’s declaration sent oil prices dropping, with WTI crude futures falling nearly 3%. But, following Trump’s denial, oil regained some of those losses, with WTI trading down 1.7% on Friday at about $55.50 per barrel.
The price swings in oil come as the the U.S. and some of its allies have blamed Iran for a series of drone attacks on Saudi Aramco oil facilities. The attacks sent oil prices soaring, as Saudi Arabia cut its production in half. Following Saudi Arabia’s request, the Pentagon announced plans to deploy U.S. forces to the region.
