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The U.S President Donald Trump said that he turned down requests to meet Iranian president Hassan Rouhani, but he may agree to talk someday in the near future. The U.S President said that he had no plans to meet his Iranian counterpart. Trump added in a tweet on Tuesday morning, “I am sure he is an absolutely lovely man”. The comments come amidst a diplomatic standoff between the United States and Iran. Trump pulled out of an international nuclear deal with America’s historic rival in the month of May.

Trump started to reinstate economic sanctions and pressurized other countries to stop buying Iranian oil. It ultimately prompted criticism in Iran that the United States was waging the economic war. Rouhani has also arranged a meeting and informed NBC News that conditions had not been met for talks to take place.

Rouhani informed the U.S ambassador, “Naturally, if someone is keen on having a meeting and holding dialogue and creating progress in relationships, that person would not use the tool of sanctions and threats [and bring] to bear all of its power against another government and nation. Trump’s tweet also comes as world leaders gather at the UN in New York, where he will address the general assembly later on Tuesday.

The U.S President is expected to be unapologetic regarding his decision to engage with North Korea and to remove the U.S from the Iran nuclear accord. Iran’s Revolutionary Guards called Trump as “evil and adventurous”. They said, his “economic war and cruel sanctions” were an attack on their country. Relations between the Washington and Tehran have been further strained by an attack on a military parade at the weekend which caused deaths of 25 people. Tehran blamed on U.S allies for the attack. The deputy head of Iran’s Revolutionary Guards accused the U.S and Israel of involvement in the attack.