TEHRAN - Iranian Foreign Ministry spokesman Abbas Moussavi dismissed on Sunday any “direct or indirect” talks with the United States.

“There are no direct or indirect talks between Iran and the U.S.,” he said.

On Saturday, Kuwaiti media outlets, quoting the country’s Deputy Foreign Minister Khaled al-Jarallah, reported that negotiations between Iran and the U.S. have started.

Iran has already insisted that the first requirement for talks with the U.S. is that Washington must first return to the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), and lift all sanctions. 

Kamal Kharrazi, chief of the Strategic Council on Foreign Relations, said on May 12 that U.S. President Donald Trump’s act in quitting the JCPOA “has left no room for trust and negotiation”.

President Hassan Rouhani said on May 20 that U.S. claims of seeking negotiations with Iran are “mere lies”.

The U.S. has the illusion to force Iran into submission by introducing the worst ever sanctions on the country, Rouhani remarked.

Talking during a meeting with religious figures and clerics, Rouhani said he generally supports negotiation and diplomacy, but under the current situation there will be no negotiation with the U.S.

“During my last year’s visit to the United Nations, five well-known leaders of the world mediated to hold talks between him and the U.S. president [Donald Trump]. A year before that, the U.S. Department of State requested to hold talks for eight times. However, the current situation is not right for talks. Today, it is right to resist,” Rouhani stated.

During a meeting with authorities on May 14, Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Ali Khamenei said, “Negotiating is poisonous as long as the U.S. continues with the same course of action; besides, negotiating with the current government of the United States is all the more poisonous.”

Speaking in the same meeting, Rouhani said the Iranians can overcome problems through unity and solidarity.

“We can counter problems through unity, coordination and better management,” he said.

Ebrahim Raeisi, the Judiciary chief, said on May 13 that Iran can achieve victory over the U.S. economic and political pressure through resistance, suggesting that Iran will not surrender or hold negotiation with the Trump administration.

NA/PA