TEHRAN, Feb. 8 (Xinhua) -- Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesman Ramin Mehmanparast said Friday that talks with the United States is not currently possible.
"According to the guidelines of the (Iranian) supreme leader, negotiations with the United states is not in agenda and is not possible before they change their attitude and ask for apology for their... hostility toward the country," Mehmanparast was quoted as saying by official IRNA news agency Friday.
However, it is possible for Iran to enter negotiations with all of the countries except "the Zionist regime of Israel which Iran does not recognize," said Mehmanparast.
Iran's Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Thursday said the Islamic republic is not interested in any talks with the United States under pressure.
Khamenei's remarks came a day after Washington expanded the U.S. sanctions on Iran by tightening up economic measures against the Islamic republic and adding more names to its blacklist.
Talking to a group of military officials here on Thursday, Khamenei referred to the recent U.S. proposal of direct talks with the Islamic republic over the country's nuclear program, saying that "You (Americans) impose, as you call it, paralyzing sanctions to paralyze the Iranian nation. Is this a gesture of good-will or ill-will."
On Friday, the Iranian lawmaker Mansour Haqiqatpour said that the U.S. call for talks at the same time that Washington is imposing sanctions against the Iranian nation shows the lack of honesty in Washington's behavior, Press TV reported.
"In recent days, we have witnessed intensification of restrictive measures by the U.S. against Iran. On the one hand, they want to impose sanctions against Iran and, on the other hand, they say they are ready for negotiations. Such acts are completely unacceptable," said Haqiqatpour.
He went on by saying that U.S. talk of offer to the Islamic republic is an attempt to make up for its failures in the Middle East.
Also, Tehran's Interim Friday Prayers Leader, Ayatollah Mohammad-Ali Movahhedi-Kermani, said Friday that the United States is turning to negotiation with Iran due to its failure in Syria, according to Press TV.
Meanwhile, the spokesman for Iran's Majlis (Parliament) National Security and Foreign Policy Commission Seyyed Hossein Naqavi-Hosseini said Friday that U.S. words and actions do not correspond and it is only trying to deceive public opinion with the talks offer.
"The Americans want to show that they are willing to negotiate but in practice, they are following (the path of) threats, sanctions and pressure," he was quoted as saying by Press TV.
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