U.S. Will Not Lift Iran Sanctions: Trump

U.S. President Donald Trump has affirmed that his country will not lift Iran sanctions in order to negotiate.

“Iranian Foreign Minister says Iran wants to negotiate with the United States but wants sanctions removed. No Thanks!” Trump tweeted.

Zarif also responded to Trump's tweet by posting extracts from his latest interview, via his official account on Twitter, saying that Tehran still open to negotiations with the U.S. if the sanctions are lifted.

It is worth mentioning that, the tensions between Washington and Tehran have escalated since the U.S. withdrawal from Iran’s nuclear agreement by world powers in 2018 and reimposed sanctions which led to a decline in Iranian oil exports and hit the country's economy.

Tensions between the two countries have reached their highest levels in decades after the US killed commander of the Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps Qassem Soleimani by a drone in Baghdad, prompting Tehran to fire missiles at US bases in Iraq.