US 'sowing division in Middle East', Iran's Pezeshkian says after Trump tour

Iranian leader tells Tehran forum that Washington 'tries to pit us against each other' with weapons sales

Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian told the Tehran Dialogue Forum that the US is giving 'conflicting messages' to the region. EPA

Washington is trying to sow division in the Middle East as countries in the region attempt to improve ties, Iran's President Masoud Pezeshkian has said.

This follows last week's visit to the Gulf by US President Donald Trump, during which he described Iran as the “most destructive force” in the Middle East.

“The US tries to pit us against each other,” Mr Pezeshkian said at a Tehran conference organised by Iran's Foreign Ministry on Sunday. “They announce Iran as a threat at the same time as they sell weapons to others.”

The National obtained a rare press visa to visit Iran and report on the Tehran Dialogue Forum, an event organised by the ministry's Institute for Political and International Studies think tank.

During Mr Trump's tour of the Gulf, Washington signed defence deals with Saudi Arabia worth nearly $142 billion, providing the kingdom with equipment and technology from a dozen US firms.

Mr Trump's tour appears to have irked Tehran as it seeks closer ties with its neighbours and pushes for policy decisions on the Middle East to be taken close to home, rather than in co-ordination with Washington.

“He could have done it from DC, but he did it from the region,” Mr Pezeshkian said. There were “conflicting messages” and “ambiguity”, he added.

“Our message in the region is that we have done our best to move forward, based on brotherhood and co-operation.”

A nuclear deal with Washington must find a 'just balance', Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi told the Tehran Dialogue Forum. EPA

A former doctor, the 70-year-old Iranian President was elected last July in a snap election, after the death of former president Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash. He is seen as a reformer.

The Tehran forum − advertised on posters in the city's streets as “Tehran, the host of global conversations” − portrayed Iran as a willing partner in dialogue with both its regional partners and western capitals.

The rare access for The National comes at a key time in Middle East diplomacy, with negotiations ongoing between Iran, the US and European nations over Tehran's nuclear programme. Officials from Washington and Iran have held four rounds of talks mediated by Oman in Muscat and Rome. A deal could see the US lift sanctions on Tehran in exchange for limits on its nuclear development.

Mr Trump has said he wants to make a deal, while also criticising Iran. Tehran also says it is willing to sign an agreement.

“We believe an agreement can solidify peace and security,” Iran's Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said at the forum, but added that any deal needed to find a “just balance”.

Mr Pezeshkian repeated previous pledges that Iran is not seeking to build a nuclear weapon but retains a right to “peaceful research” for agricultural and scientific activities. Iran hawks in the US and Israel have used fears over the nuclear programme to justify threats of military action.

The National obtained a rare press visa to visit Iran and report on the Tehran Dialogue Forum, where speakers included Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. EPA

Nationalities present among the forum's 250 foreign guests suggested where Iran's priorities lie.

They included a large delegation of Foreign Ministry officials from the UAE, Afghanistan's Foreign Minister Mawlawi Amir Khan Muttaqi, and Oman's Foreign Minister Badr bin Hamad Al Busaidi, who has been mediating the US-Iran nuclear talks.

The Foreign Minister of Tajikistan Sirojiddin Muhriddin and President Nechirvan Barzani of Iraq's Kurdistan Region also attended, as well as officials from Turkey and Qatar. Iranian diplomats flitted between meeting rooms as a catering team served espresso, Turkish and Arabic coffee in a bloom-filled garden.

In a keynote address, Mr Al Busaidi said he was seeing signs of a “more flexible approach” from the US administration. He made a direct reference to US interaction with Palestinian militant group Hamas, which resulted in the release of a US-Israeli hostage from Gaza this month.

“In my opinion, the US is seeking approval of a more flexible approach in who they can speak to and who they can rely on,” Mr Al Busaidi said. “Dialogue is necessary”, even if Israel “doesn't do dialogue and continues its military actions”, he added.

There is an apparent consensus between Mr Trump's rejection of neoconservative foreign interventions by the US and opposition from senior Iranian officials to policies being imposed on the Middle East from the outside.

“Coalitions coming from in the region are more lasting and effective than those outside the region,” Mr Araghchi said.

But Mr Pezeshkian added that Tehran will only go so far to reach diplomatic agreements with western nations.

“We want brotherly nations with our neighbours and the whole world,” Mr Pezeshkian said. “But we cannot give up our rights.”