During the Wednesday cabinet meeting, Hassan Rouhani, the president of the Islamic Republic of Iran who played a key role in the nuclear negotiations with world powers, emphasized on negotiation before “defense” and said: “We are always ready for negotiation and diplomacy, just as we are always ready for war and defense.”

In response to the complete sanction of Iranian oil by the United States a few days ago, Rouhani stated: “Negotiations are only possible if all the pressures are removed, and if they apologize for their illegal activities, and there is mutual respect.”

Rouhani also indirectly compared President Trump to “a knife-wielding thug who is seeking negotiations through force and lies” and claimed: “We do not negotiate with a knife-wielding thug and the formula of knife-wielding, and accepting such negotiation means accepting humiliation and surrender.”

According to Rouhani, “the U.S is not at all ready for negotiations” and “things are not as they advertise”.

However, with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps on the list of terrorist groups and United States’ refusal to extend the sanction waivers for the customers of Iranian oil, the pressures on the Islamic Republic is at its all-time high, and yet, the American officials have repeatedly announced their willingness to negotiate for a better deal than the original JCPOA.

Two weeks ago, as the IRGC was designated as a terrorist organization, Brian Hook, the special representative for Iran asked Iran to make peace with the United States.

After the refusal to extend sanction waivers, Hook once again announced that Washington is willing to negotiate with Iran.