Iran’s President, Hassan Rouhani on Tuesday reiterated that talks with the United States would only be possible if Washington first lifts sanctions imposed on Tehran.

Coming a day after President Donald Trump said he was open to talks with Tehran if the circumstances were correct, Rouhani said a meeting between the two countries would simply not be possible unless the sanctions were lifted.

Rouhani’s comments came a day after a surprise intervention by French President, Emmanuel Macron during the G-7 Summit to try to bring Washington and Tehran together.

“If the circumstances were correct, were right. I would certainly agree to meet with Rouhani,” Trump said while speaking at a news conference with Macron. He added that a meeting within weeks is realistic. 

Earlier on Monday, Rouhani had expressed readiness to negotiate a way out of the crisis following America’s pullout from the nuclear deal.

A day later, Rouhani said that “without the US withdrawal of its sanctions on Iran, Tehran will not witness any positive development, adding that Washington holds the key to any future dialogue. 

Iran’s Foreign Minister, Javad Zarif also told Iran’s news agency, IRNA on Tuesday that a one-on-one meeting between Rouhani and Trump was simply ‘not imaginable’. 

“I said this in Biarritz, unless the US comes back to the 5 plus 1 and performs the JCPOA, but still at that time, there will be no one-on-one talks,” Zarif said, referring to the five members of the United Nations Security Council plus Germany and the official acronym for the Iran nuclear deal.

Both Trump and Rouhani are due to attend the United Nations General Assembly in September.