“Holding negotiations with the US has never been a taboo subject [for Iran],” the Iranian Parliament Director General for International Affairs Hossein Amir-Abdollahian wrote in a tweet on Saturday.
He added that the foreign ministers of the two countries had held dozens of meetings during the course of nuclear negotiations, as well as three rounds of talks in Baghdad, in which the Iranian official had also participated.
“Negotiation in itself is not the issue here,” said Amir-Abdollahian, adding “rather, it is the US’ bulling behaviour, its great crimes before and after the Islamic Revolution, and the repeated violations of its commitments.”
“Any diplomatic negotiation is based on the ‘right timing’ and ‘dignity’,” he added.
The official’s remarks came in response to US President Donald Trump’s call for a meeting with Iranian President Hassan Rouhani with “no preconditions”. Trump’s call for talks came as US unilaterally withdrew from the 2015 Iran nuclear deal and reinstated sanctions against Tehran.
Iran’s Foreign Ministry Spokesman Bahram Ghasemi said sanctions and pressure are at odds with US’ call for holding dialogue, which requires mutual respect and adherence to international obligations.
