Mubasher: The US proposed to lift all sanctions on Iran in return for negotiations with Iranian leadership, but Tehran did not accept the offer yet because of the surrounding “toxic atmosphere,” Reuters reported citing President Hassan Rouhani’s official website.

“It was up for debate what sanctions will be lifted and [US officials] had said clearly that we will lift all sanctions,” Rouhani said.

After returning from the United Nations General Assembly, the Iranian leader said that he met US officials upon the insistence of German, UK and French representatives.

“This action wasn’t in a manner that was acceptable, meaning that in the atmosphere of sanctions and the existence of sanctions and the toxic atmosphere of maximum pressure, even if we want to negotiate with the Americans in the 5+1 framework, no one can predict what the end and result of this negotiation will be,” Rouhani said.

It is worth pointing out that the US and Iran are at odds over a string of issues, including Washington’s withdrawal from the 2015 nuclear pact, accusations that Iran attacked two of Saudi Arabia’s oil sites in mid-September and Tehran’s detention of US citizens.

Last year, President Donald Trump re-introduced sanctions that were lifted under the nuclear deal in exchange for Tehran’s curbing its uranium enrichment activities.