Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday that his administration will never negotiate with the United States under "maximum pressure", the Xinhua news agency reports.
"Iran will never negotiate in a weak position. We will make the enemy come to the negotiating table in a fair condition," Rouhani said at a press conference.
"The path ahead for the Iranians is the path of resistance against the US pressures," he added.
Despite "sanction impacts on the livelihood of the people," the Iranians have overcome the pressures, the Iranian president noted.
Rouhani urged the United States to return to the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal and remove sanctions it imposed on the Islamic Republic.
"If this happens, we are ready for talks with the United States within the framework of JCPOA," he said.
Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018.
In one of the moves, the Islamic Republic restarted uranium enrichment at the underground Fordow facility in violation of the deal.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif threatened recently that if Iran’s nuclear file is sent to the UN Security Council, the country will withdraw from the Non-Proliferation Treaty (NPT).
Later, however, Zarif softened his tone and said Iran is not ruling out negotiations with the United States, though he also demanded that the US lift the sanctions it imposed on the Islamic Republic.