President Hassan Rouhani emphasized that “our strategy is held by two pillars of domestic resistance and active diplomacy,” adding: “We never decided on bilateral talks with the US at any point in the past or present. There have been many offers, but our answer is always negative.”

 Rouhani denied any bilateral negotiation with the United State on Sunday in the parliament, and said: “Their calculation that in sixth months, meaning the end of last Christian year, there would be nothing left of the regime and the revolution and the government and parliament was right,” but “with our domestic resistance and active diplomacy” we made them understand that “they cannot force Iran to its knees with their maximum pressure.”

“Of course we have not closed the door to diplomacy and we never will. Productive cooperation with the world has been this government’s policy from the beginning and it will continue,” Rouhani added.

He continued: “America talked with us in 5+1 (meeting before the nuclear deal), if America lifts all of its sanctions, they can still attend the 5+1 meetings like in the past. But we cannot elaborate on these things in public speeches. So some people think that what we mean by negotiation is a bilateral conversation. Foreigners have their own perceptions, but our foreign policy is designated by the supreme leader, we all walk the same path and there are no disagreements on national issues.”

The president of Iran said: “We don’t believe in using only one of these two tools, either diplomacy or resistance. We do not believe that national resistance is in contrast with active diplomacy, we believe they are complementary to each other.”

He added: “I ask our mass media not to create dichotomies and division and discord in the country. Ours are not the conditions of a dichotomy but unity and a united voice. We must not hear the voice of the enemy from the mouth of any group, even those who oppose the government. Let the enemy talk with its own voice.”