"We regard that the only successful way to ensure security, peace and stability in the region is the settlement of issues peacefully and responsibly and taking collective interests into account. We believe that militarism cannot resolve regional problems,” Rouhani said in a phone conversation with Qatari Emir Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani on Tuesday.
In a meeting with Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov in Tehran earlier in the day, the Iranian president said allowing the Israeli regime a foothold in the Persian Gulf region is “dangerous,” given the fact that the regime is a “destabilizing and provocative” element.
Rouhani also pointed to recent talks between the remaining parties to a multilateral 2015 nuclear agreement in the Austrian capital of Vienna and the US willingness to rejoin the nuclear deal, which was abandoned by former US president Donald Trump, and stressed the importance of lifting all sanctions imposed by Washington against Tehran.
"The only way (to solve the nuclear issue) is the US’s return to the JCPOA [the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action], lifting of all sanctions and fulfilling all obligations under the United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231 and there is no doubt that after these measures by the US, Iran will also return to all its commitments as per the JCPOA,” the president stated.
He said he hopes that the Americans have realized over the years that sanctions and pressure are not the right approach, adding, "The Americans need to return to the Security Council resolution (2231) and the nuclear agreements between the seven countries and this is the only solution."
In 2015, Iran and six world states — namely the US, Germany, France, Britain, Russia and China — signed the historic nuclear deal, which was ratified in the form of UN Security Council Resolution 2231.
However, Trump abandoned the JCPOA three years after its conclusion and unleashed what his team called a “maximum pressure" campaign against Iran with the stated objective of forcing the country to negotiate “a better agreement.”
The Islamic Republic refused to bow down to the pressure and adopted instead a “maximum resistance” policy, which includes economic measures to weather the bans as well as reducing Tehran's compliance with the JCPOA.
The new US administration, under President Joe Biden, has spoken of a willingness to return to the nuclear agreement, but in practice, it has been sticking to Trump’s “maximum pressure” campaign and conditioned the move to Tehran’s full compliance.
Tehran says Washington is the side which abandoned the JCPOA and thus, it has to take the first step to unconditionally remove all its sanctions on Iran in a verifiable manner, given its long record of not playing by the rules.
Elsewhere in his remarks, Rouhani stressed the importance of utilizing Tehran-Doha capacities to further improve ties in all fields, particularly in the trade and economic sectors.
The Qatari Emir, for his part, highlighted the significance of deepening relations between the two countries, especially cooperation in the field of transportation, and said Tehran and Doha should use their utmost potential to develop ties.
Al Thani threw his country’s weight behind the path of dialogue to resolve problems and expressed hope that all parties to the JCPOA would return to their commitments to facilitate the revitalization of the multilateral international agreement.
He once again invited President Rouhani to visit Qatar to exchange views about regional developments and issues of common interest.