The foreign minister of the Islamic Republic, Mohammad Javad Zarif, says that in order to negotiate with Tehran, Washington must come back to the nuclear deal and stop its “economic terrorism” against Iran.

In a press conference on Thursday in Kuala Lumpur, Zarif told the reporters: “The United States is involved in an economic war against the Iranian people, and it is not possible for us to deal with the US unless they stop their war and economic terrorism against us.”

He continued: “If they want to return to the negotiation table, there is a ticket they must buy, and that the JCPOA compliance ticket.”

“You don’t negotiate with terrorists. If they want to negotiate, they should stop their terrorism,” Zarif added.

He stated that Iran will only agree to a meeting if it is fruitful.

A few days ago, President Rouhani stated: “If I know by meeting and negotiating with someone the country prospers and people’s problems are resolved, I will not hesitate.”

He walked back his comments yesterday after a backlash from Islamic Republic officials and said he would only negotiate if the sanctions are lifted.

In his joint press conference with President Trump at the end of the G7 summit, President Macron had talked about preparations for negotiation between the Islamic Republic and the United States, saying he hopes that Rouhani and Trump would meet in the upcoming weeks.

Zarif also stated that Iran would speed up the legal process for the British tanker Stena Impero which has been detained by the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) in the Persian Gulf.

The tanker was detained in retaliation to the seizure of Iranian tanker Grace 1 (now Adrian Darya 1) in Gibraltar by the British forces. The Iranian tanker was released weeks ago but the British tanker is still detained by the IRGC.