Obama acknowledged Iran’s nuclear rights in his phone call, President

IRNA – President Hassan Rohani said that the US President Barack Obama acknowledged Iran’s nuclear rights during his phone conversation with him.

The President made the remarks while talking to IRNA upon his arrival in Mehrabad international airport here Saturday back from his visit to New York for 68th United Nations General Assembly.

He said the conversation with President Obama mainly focused on the nuclear issue.

He said Obama stressed that the nuclear program was not only an issue pertaining to the rights of the nation and the national progress but also something pinned to national pride and honor.

Referring to his visit to New York, he said the most important achievement of the trip was realization of the fact that ground is apt for solving issues.

The President said to get to this goal, it was necessary to adopt the policy offered by the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Revolution which focuses on “heroic flexibility”.

Asked to comment on the reasons for not having a meeting with President Obama, he said the only reason was the lack of time.

He noted that during the days he was preparing for his visit to New York, he received the first information that US officials were keen on a meeting between President Obama and him, with the invitation having been renewed when he was in New York.

However, the President said, there was not enough time for the Iranian delegation to get prepared for the meeting.

He pointed out that given numerous issues existed between Iran and the US in the past six decades, many things had to be arranged for the two presidents to have a meeting.

Due to his tight schedule, he noted, any meetings between the two presidents might have turned out as unripe.

He said that some American media assessed the turning down of the US president’s invitation by Iran as a humiliation for the US.

President Rohani dismissed such claims, saying that the reason for not having a meeting was just the lack of time for making necessary arrangements.

President Rohani noted that during his New York trip he met with a number of senior foreign officials who all admitted Iran’s role, the greatness of the Iranian nation and the significance of the recent elections in Iran.