Tillerson hopes re-elected Rouhani 'puts an end' to Iran's ballistic missile testing
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson on Saturday shared the agenda he wants Iranian President Hassan Rouhani to pursue following his re-election win Friday. Speaking at a joint press conference in Riyadh with Saudi Foreign Minister Adel al-Jubeir, Tillerson said he hopes Rouhani will use his new term "to begin a process of dismantling Iran's network of terrorism."
"We also hope that he puts an end to their ballistic missile testing," Tillerson continued. "We also hope that he restores the rights of Iranians." Rouhani, who facilitated the nuclear deal Iran signed with the U.S. during the Obama administration, is a moderate and ran on a message of "social and political freedom" in contrast with his hardline challenger.
Tillerson also used the occasion to praise the massive U.S.-Saudi arms deal signed Saturday, calling it a "strong message to our common enemies," a category in which both governments place Iran. Watch an excerpt of his comments below. Bonnie Kristian
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Bonnie Kristian was a deputy editor and acting editor-in-chief of TheWeek.com. She is a columnist at Christianity Today and author of Untrustworthy: The Knowledge Crisis Breaking Our Brains, Polluting Our Politics, and Corrupting Christian Community (forthcoming 2022) and A Flexible Faith: Rethinking What It Means to Follow Jesus Today (2018). Her writing has also appeared at Time Magazine, CNN, USA Today, Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, and The American Conservative, among other outlets.
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