INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
and military commanders on Tuesday rejected United States President Donald Trump's offer of talks without preconditions as worthless and
"a dream", saying his words contradicted his action of reimposing sanctions on Tehran.Separately, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said
Trump's repudiation of an international nuclear deal reached in 2015 was "illegal" and Iran would not easily yield to Washington's
renewed campaign to strangle Iran's vital oil exports.In May, Trump pulled the United States out of the multilateral deal concluded before
he took office, denouncing it as one-sided in Iran's favour
On Monday, he said that he would be willing to meet Rouhani without preconditions to discuss how to improve relations.Iran's foreign
minister said that Washington should blame itself for ending talks with Tehran when it withdrew from the nuclear deal."United States can
only blame itself for pulling out and leaving the tableThreats, sanctions and PR stunts won't work," Mohammad Javad Zarif said in a
tweet.The foreign ministry spokesman said Trump's offer to negotiate with Tehran contradicted his actions as Washington has imposed
sanctions on Iran and put pressure on other countries to avoid business with the Islamic Republic."Sanctions and pressures are the exact
opposite of dialogue," Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency on Tuesday.The head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards
equally dismissed Trump's tentative offer, saying the Islamic Republic was not North Korea."Mr Trump! Iran is not North Korea to accept
your offer for a meeting," Guards commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying by Fars News agency."Even United States
presidents after you will not see that day," he added.The head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations said Tehran saw no value
in Trump's offer, made only a week after he warned Iran it risked dire consequences if it made threats against Washington."Based on our
bad experiences in negotiations with America and based on United States officials' violation of their commitments, it is natural that we
see no value in his proposal," Kamal Kharrazi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.The Strategic Council on Foreign
Relations was set up by Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to help formulate long-term policies for Iran.NO MEETING PLANNEDTrump's move
to force Iran into new negotiations has for now reunited Iranian hardliners who opposed the nuclear deal and pragmatists like Rouhani who
championed it to Iran's economically crippling stand-off with Western powers.Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament who is seen as
part of the moderate camp, said that to negotiate with Trump now "would be a humiliation"."If Trump had not withdrawn from the nuclear deal
and not imposed sanctions on Iran, there would be no problem with negotiations with America," he told state news agency IRNA.A senior State
Department official said on Tuesday United States Secretary of State Mike Pompeo will not meet with his Iranian counterpart during a
meeting of Southeast Asian nations in Singapore this weekend.Israel, which opposed the nuclear deal and encouraged Trump to withdraw from
it, seems not concerned with the United States offer to meet Iranian leaders.A senior Israeli official told Reuters on Tuesday: "Israel is
in continuous contact with the American administration
Senior American officials have stated that there is no change in America's firm policy on Iran."Under the 2015 deal, the fruit of
Rouhani's efforts to ease Iran's international isolation to help revive its economy, Iran curbed its nuclear programme and won relief
and Western sanctions in return.NUCLEAR PACT IN JEOPARDYTrump condemned the deal in part because it did not cover Iran's ballistic missile
programme and involvement in Middle East conflicts
He reactivated United States sanctions, the most all-encompassing measures against Iran, and warned countries to stop importing Iranian oil
4 or risk United States penalties.European signatories to the deal have been searching for ways to salvage it but cautioned Tehran that
they may not be able to persuade many investors not to bolt from business with Iran to avoid United States punishment.Rouhani said during a
meeting with Britain's ambassador on Tuesday that after what he called the "illegal" United States withdrawal from the nuclear deal, "the
ball is in Europe's court now".He added, "The Islamic Republic has never sought tension in the region and does not want any trouble in
global waterways, but it will not easily give up on its rights to export oil."Rouhani and some senior military commanders have said Iran
could disrupt oil shipments from Gulf states through the Strait of Hormuz if Washington tries to choke off Iranian oil exports.Reiterating
Tehran's official stance, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency that the strait
would remain open "if Iran's national interests are preserved".Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, told Reuters on Tuesday
that Trump was mistaken if he expected Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to compensate for losses of Iranian oil caused by United States
sanctions."It seems President Trump has been taken hostage by Saudi Arabia and a few producers when they claimed they can replace 2.5
million barrels per day of Iranian exports, encouraging him to take action against Iran," Ardebili said."Now they and Russia sell more oil
Not even from their incremental production but their stocks."He said oil prices, which Trump has been pressuring the Organization of the
Petroleum Exporting Countries to bring down by raising output, will instead rise unless the United States grants waivers to buyers of
Iranian crude.Iran's currency plumbed new depths on Monday, dropping past 120,000 rials to the dollar, but Trump's expressed willingness
to negotiate with Tehran sparked a minor recovery on Tuesday to 110,000 rials on the unofficial market.Videos on social media showed
hundreds of people rallying in Isfahan in central Iran, and Karaj near Tehran, in protest at high prices caused in part by the rial's
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