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The Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Iran will not talk to the United States until all sanctions imposed on Tehran are lifted. His statement came a day after President Donald Trump said he would meet his Iranian counterpart to try to end a nuclear standoff. On Monday, Trump said he will meet Iranian president under the right circumstances to finish a confrontation regarding Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with 6 powers. He added the talks were underway to see how countries could open credit lines to keep Iran’s economy afloat. Rouhani said Iran was always ready to hold talks, but first, the U.S should lift entire illegal and unfair sanctions imposed on Iran.

On Tuesday, Rouhani said during a televised speech, “Without the U.S.’s withdrawal from sanctions, we will not witness any positive development”. He said, “Washington holds the key as to what happens next. If someone intends to make it as just a photo op with Rouhani, that is not possible”. Rouhani also expressed readiness to negotiate a way out of the crisis following America’s pullout from the nuclear deal. He also said, “If I knew that going to a meeting and visiting a person would help my country’s development and resolve the problems of the people, I would not miss it. Even if the odds of success are not 90% but are 20% or 10%, we must move ahead with it. We should not miss opportunities”.

It is noteworthy that the U-turn of Rouhani can be seen as a result of pressure from hard-liners in the Iranian establishment who oppose taking a softer tone towards the West. Trump spoke at a G7 summit in the French resort of Biarritz. Trump ruled out lifting economic sanctions to compensate for losses suffered by Iran. The European parties to the deal have struggled to calm the deepening confrontation between Iran and the United States since Trump pulled Washington out of the 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and re-imposed sanctions on the Iranian economy. Iran has cut down its commitments under the pact in retaliation to U.S sanctions.