America's demand for talks is a lie, says Iran president

Rouhani says US set the negotiation room on fire

America’s demand for talks with Iran is a lie, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Tuesday, in comments broadcast live on state TV.

“They say ‘we are ready to negotiate’. They’re saying something strange. What does ‘we’re ready to negotiate’ mean? Who left the negotiating table? Who broke the negotiating table? Who set the negotiating room on fire? It was them,” Rouhani said. “So this is a lie on top of a lie every day.”

In a tweet in early June, US President Donald Trump urged Iran to make a deal with America.

Since 2018, when Trump exited Iran’s 2015 nuclear deal with six powers, Washington has reimposed sanctions to throttle Iran’s oil exports as part of a “maximum pressure” policy. The United States says its aim is to force Tehran to agree a broader deal that puts stricter limits on its nuclear work, curbs its ballistic missile program and ends its regional proxy wars.

Iran has long said it will not negotiate as long as sanctions remain in place.