Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani has said that the first step to talks with United States President, Donald Trump, would be the removal of all sanctions.
Mr. Trump had appeared to confirm his willingness to talk with Iran at the G7 summit in Biarritz, south-west France, saying he would meet the Iranian leader if the situation was right.
“If the circumstances were correct, I would certainly agree to that,” he said on Monday.
He did not clarify what those circumstances would be.
But on Tuesday, President Rouhani said in an interview with state TV that the first step is to retreat from sanctions.
“You must retreat from all illegal, unjust and wrong sanctions against the nation of Iran,” he said.
Tension between Washington and Tehran has spiralled in recent months. The Iranian economy is struggling after the US reimposed sanctions after pulling out of a pivotal 2015 nuclear deal that put limits on the enrichment of Tehran.
On Sunday, Iran’s Foreign Minister Javad Zarif arrived unannounced at the G7 summit in an intervention aimed at easing the nuclear deal crisis.
Mr. Zarif arrived at the invitation of summit host France, which has taken the lead in trying to ease tension between Tehran and the US.
It was initially reported that the unexpected arrival had angered President Trump, who was not told of the invitation. But Mr. Trump later said he knew about the invite and “respected the fact that he was coming in. We’re looking to make Iran rich again, let them be rich, let them do well, if they want”.
Mr. Rouhani also said that Iran would continue to scale back its nuclear commitments if the sanctions are not lifted.
“Tehran has never wanted nuclear weapons,” he said, but added that the country was always ready to hold talks.
The two countries have also been at loggerheads over the Grace 1 supertanker, which has now been renamed the Adrian Darya-1.
The Grace 1 was released from custody in Gibraltar earlier this month after being held for five months as it was suspected to have been carrying oil to Syria, in breech of European Union sanctions.
The US federal court ordered the seizure of the vessel, claiming that it has links to Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps, which Washington has designated a terrorist organisation, soon after the detention order was lifted. The petition was rejected by Gibraltar.
Iran said any US move to seize the vessel again would have “heavy consequences”.
It is not known where the tanker, which was initially headed for Greece after its release and then Turkey, is heading after it was revealed it had sold the oil on board to an unnamed buyer on Monday.
Also on Monday, Iran announced that it has deployed destroyer Sahand to the Gulf of Aden, near Yemen, where the UAE and Saudi Arabia have been fighting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels since 2015.
