President Hassan Rouhani says the Islamic Republic is ready for a fair negotiation, not surrender.

In his cabinet meeting on Wednesday, President Rouhani announced: “We are fully prepared for a fair, legal, and dignified negotiation to solve the problems. But we are not ready to surrender under the label of negotiation.”

Despite its maximum pressure campaign against the Islamic Republic, the White House has repeatedly offered to negotiate with the regime of Iran.

“If the other side makes the right and balanced efforts and there is a cease-fire in the economic war, there will be an opportunity for negotiation and reach a result,” said Rouhani, referring to the heavy economic sanctions.

The president of Iran also criticized what he called Europe’s inaction regarding the nuclear deal, saying: “Scaling back compliance with our commitments is temporary, and if they comply with their commitments, we have an opportunity to reverse our decision and go back to the way things were.”

Rouhani also stated that Strait of Hormuz is a very important location and “it is not a place to play around, nor a place for to ignore international regulations and enter it without paying attention to the warnings of the IRGC (Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps) who is responsible for the safety of the strait.”

He praised “the courageous act of the IRGC” by stopping the “culprit British ship” and said the Revolutionary Guard “acted righteously and professionally” and “all the world must be thankful to the Revolutionary Guard for the safety of the Persian Gulf.”