Rouhani says Iran will not talk to US until sanctions are lifted

Iran will not talk to the United States until all sanctions imposed on Tehran are lifted, President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday.

“Without this step, this lock will not be unlocked,” Rouhani said.

His comments came a day after President Donald Trump said on Monday he would meet Iran’s president under the right circumstances.

Tensions have been escalating between the two nations when Washington pulled out of Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers and reimposed sanctions on the country. Trump also said talks were under way to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran’s economy afloat.

In a televised speech at an event in Tehran on Tuesday, the Iranian president said he was always ready for talks, but that “first the US should act by lifting all illegal, unjust and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran”.

He added: “If the US does not lift the sanctions and does not reject the wrong path that it has chosen, we will not witness any positive developments. The key for positive developments is in the hands of Washington.”

Rouhani said that if Trump’s only concern was Iran gaining nuclear weapons, there was “nothing to worry about”.

“We’re not after weapons of mass destruction, neither atomic nor chemical, and not because of your frown and admonition, but because of our beliefs and morals and the [Supreme] Leader’s fatwa.”