Iran rejects talks with U.S. under sanction pressures

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani on Wednesday rejected talks with the United States over the mutual issues, while Washington maintains its "maximum pressure campaign" against Tehran.

A handout picture provided by the Iranian presidency shows President Hassan Rouhani chairing a cabinet meeting in the capital Tehran on September 18, 2019. [Photo: Iranian Presidency/AFP]

Rouhani, who was talking in Iran's cabinet meeting, said that "negotiations under maximum pressure are impossible," official IRNA news agency reported.

"If the Americans want talks, they should stop all pressures" against Iran, Rouhani was quoted as saying.

The U.S. officials cannot reach their objectives through their sanction pressure against the Islamic republic, he said.

On Tuesday, Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said that Iranian officials unanimously ruled out talks with the United States "at any level."

Through negotiations, they (the Americans) are seeking to impose their demands on Iran and prove the effectiveness of "maximum pressure campaign," Khamenei said.

"The U.S. administration's policy, in following maximum pressure on Iran, is to exert various sanctions and to resort to threats," he said.

Washington's "maximum pressure campaign" against the Iranian nation has failed to achieve its goals, he noted.

Talks with the United States will only be possible within the framework of P5+1 group consisting of the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany if Washington returns to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal that it abandoned last year, he added.

"Otherwise, no talks at any level will be held between Iranian and American officials, neither in New York nor in other places," he stressed.

Meanwhile, Iran's government spokesman Ali Rabiee ruled out the possibility of negotiations between Iran and the United States over the existing issues under the U.S. sanction pressures.

"Once, we negotiated (with the U.S.) under sanctions (to sign Iranian 2015 nuclear deal), but we will no longer negotiate under sanctions anymore," Rabiee told reporters.

"If Trump gains our confidence and respects the Iranian nation, we will negotiate within the framework of P5+1 group," he said.

Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman also excluded the likelihood of any meeting between the Iranian and U.S. presidents in the upcoming UN General Assembly meeting in New York.

"This is not on the agenda, and I do not think this will happen in New York," said Abbas Mousavi.

Trump withdrew the United States from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal in May 2018 under the pretext that the deal was not comprehensive. Besides, he said that it did not address the development of Iran's ballistic missile projects. Subsequently, the U.S. administration launched a "maximum pressure campaign" and reinstated sanctions on Iran's economy, mainly on Iran's oil exports.