Iran's President Hassan Rouhani
Senior Iranian officials on Tuesday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's offer of talks without preconditions as worthless and "a humiliation" after he acted to reimpose sanctions on Tehran following his withdrawal from a landmark nuclear deal.
Separately, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Trump's repudiation of the accord reached in 2015 was "illegal" and Iran would not easily yield to Washington's renewed campaign to strangle Iran's vital oil exports.
In May, Trump pulled the United States out of the multilateral deal concluded before he took office, denouncing it as one-sided in Iran's favour. On Monday, he declared that he would be willing to meet Rouhani without preconditions to discuss how to improve relations.
Iran's foreign ministry spokesman said Trump's offer to negotiate with Tehran contradicted his actions as Washington has imposed sanctions on Iran and put pressure on other countries to avoid business with the Islamic Republic.
An Iranian lawmaker has suggested the establishment of a direct “hotline” between Tehran and Washington with a view to avoiding escalations between the two countries.Speaking to local media outlets, Heshmatollah Falahatpisheh, head of Iran’s parliamentary national security committee, also described U.S. President Donald Trump’s stated willingness to hold talks as “positive”.He went on to assert that a number of countries -- he did not say which ones -- were “benefiting” from the ongoing dispute between the U.S. and Iran.According to Falahatpisheh, the establishment of a Tehran-Washington hotline would serve the national interests of both countries.On Monday, Trump voiced his readiness to hold talks -- without preconditions -- with Iranian counterpart Hassan Rouhani.Tension has steadily mounted between Tehran and Washington since May, when Trump unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from a 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and the P5 1 group of nations (the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany).The deal had placed tight restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for billions of dollars in sanctions relief.During his electoral campaign in 2016, Trump had vociferously criticized the 2015 agreement, describing it as the “worst deal” he had ever seen.Other members of the P5 1, however, say the deal in its current form still represents the best means of reigning in Iran's nuclear energy program.
Iran MP calls for Tehran-US hotline to avoid escalation
"Sanctions and pressures are the exact opposite of dialogue," Bahram Qasemi was quoted as saying by Fars news agency on Tuesday.
"How can Trump prove to the Iranian nation that his comments of last night reflect a true intention for negotiation and have not been expressed for populist gains?" he added.
The head of the powerful Revolutionary Guards equally dismissed Trump's tentative offer, saying the Islamic Republic was not North Korea.
"Mr Trump! Iran is not North Korea to accept your offer for a meeting," Guards commander Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari was quoted as saying by Fars News agency. "Even U.S. presidents after you will not see that day."
The head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations said on Tuesday that Tehran saw no value in U.S. President Donald Trump's offer to meet the Iranian president for talks without preconditions.Senior Iranian MP says it's not a good time for Iran-US talksTehran says Trump wrong to expect Saudis to cover loss of Iran oil supply"Based on our bad experiences in negotiations with America and based on the U.S. officials' violation of their commitments, it is natural that we see no value in Trump’s proposal," Kamal Kharazi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
'Tehran sees no value in Trump's talks offer': Senior Iranian diplomat
The head of Iran's Strategic Council on Foreign Relations said on Tuesday Tehran saw no value in Trump's offer, made only a week after he warned Iran it risked dire consequences few had ever suffered in history if it made threats against Washington.
"Based on our bad experiences in negotiations with America and based on U.S. officials' violation of their commitments, it is natural that we see no value in his proposal," Kamal Kharrazi was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
“Trump should first make up for his withdrawal from the nuclear deal and show that he respects his predecessors’ commitments and international law,” added Kharrazi, a former foreign minister.
Kharrazi said Trump likes “meeting for the sake of meeting” and was not concerned about its results.
It is not a good time for Iran to negotiate with the United States, a senior Iranian parliamentarian said on Tuesday, a day after U.S. President Donald Trump said he would be willing to meet Iran's leader without preconditions."If Trump had not withdrawn from (Iran's) nuclear deal (with world powers) and had not imposed sanctions on Iran, there would be no problem with negotiations with America," Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of parliament, was quoted as saying by the state news agency IRNA."But negotiating with the Americans would be a humiliation now," he said. 
Senior Iranian MP says it's not a good time for Iran-US talks
The Strategic Council on Foreign Relations was set up by Iranian Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei to help formulate long-term policies for the Islamic Republic.
Trump's move to force Iran into fresh negotiations has for now reunited Iranian hardliners who opposed the nuclear deal and pragmatists like Rouhani who championed it to end the Islamic Republic's economically crippling stand-off with Western powers.
Ali Motahari, the deputy speaker of Iran's parliament who is seen as part of Iran's moderate camp, said that to negotiate with Trump now "would be a humiliation".
"If Trump had not withdrawn from the nuclear deal and not imposed (new) sanctions on Iran, there would be no problem with negotiations with America," he told state news agency IRNA.
Iran said on Tuesday U.S. President Donald Trump was mistaken to expect Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to compensate for supply losses caused by U.S. sanctions on Iran, after OPEC production rose only modestly in July.The comments, from Iran’s OPEC governor, came a day after a Reuters survey showed OPEC production rose by 70,000 barrels per day in July. Saudi production increased but was offset by a decline in Iranian supply due to the restart of U.S. sanctions, the survey found.'I would meet Iran without preconditions': Trump"It seems President Trump has been taken hostage by Saudi Arabia and a few producers when they claimed they can replace 2.5 million barrels per day of Iranian exports, encouraging him to take action against Iran,” Hossein Kazempour Ardebili told Reuters.UN plans talks with Iran, Russia, Turkey on Syria constitutional panel"Now they and Russia sell more oil and more expensively. Not even from their incremental production but their stocks."He said oil prices, which Trump has been pressuring the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to bring down by raising output, will rise unless the United States grants waivers to buyers of Iranian crude."They are also calling for the use of the U.S. SPR (Strategic Petroleum Reserve). This will also mean higher prices. U.S. waivers to our clients if they come is due to the failure of bluffers (Saudi and the other producers) and, if not given, will again push the prices higher," he said.'Returning to nuclear deal can pave way for talks with US': Rouhani ally"So they hanged him (Trump) on the wall. Now they want to have a mega OPEC, congratulations to President Trump, Russia and Saudi Arabia.”OPEC governors represent their respective country on the organisation’s board of governors and are typically the second most senior person in a country's OPEC delegation after the oil minister.“The longer-term solution, Mr President, is to support and facilitate capacity building in all countries, proportionate to their reserves of oil and gas. And we will remain the biggest opportunity,” Kazempour said. 
Tehran says Trump wrong to expect Saudis to cover loss of Iran oil supply
Iran's interior minister chimed in that Tehran did not trust Washington as a negotiating partner. "The United States is not trustworthy. How can we trust this country when it withdraws unilaterally from the nuclear deal?" Abdolreza Rahmani Fazli was quoted as saying by the semi-official Fars news agency.
A senior aide to Rouhani said the only way back to talks was for Washington to return to the nuclear agreement.
"Respecting the Iranian nation's rights, reducing hostilities and returning to the nuclear deal are steps that can be taken to pave the bumpy road of talks between Iran and America," Hamid Aboutalebi tweeted on Tuesday.
Under the 2015 deal, the fruit of Rouhani's efforts to ease Iran's international isolation to help revive its economy, Iran curbed its shadowy nuclear programme and won relief from U.N. and Western sanctions in return.
NUCLEAR PACT IN JEOPARDY
Trump condemned the deal in part because it did not cover Iran's ballistic missile programme and involvement in Middle East conflicts. He reactivated U.S. sanctions, the most all-encompassing measures against Iran, and warned countries to stop importing Iranian oil from Nov. 4 or risk U.S. penalties.
The three major European signatories to the 2015 deal have been searching for ways to salvage it but cautioned Tehran that they may not be able to persuade many major investors not to bolt from business with Iran to avoid U.S. punishment.
Rouhani said during a meeting with Britain's ambassador on Tuesday that after what he called the "illegal" U.S. withdrawal from the nuclear deal, "the ball is in Europe's court now".
He added, "The Islamic Republic has never sought tension in the region and does not want any trouble in global waterways, but it will not easily give up on its rights to export oil.”
Rouhani and some senior military commanders have said Iran could disrupt oil shipments from Gulf states through the Strait of Hormuz if Washington tries to choke off Iranian oil exports.
Reiterating Tehran's official stance, Iranian Navy Commander Rear Admiral Hossein Khanzadi was quoted as saying by Tasnim news agency on Tuesday that the strait would remain open "if Iran's national interests are preserved".
Iran's OPEC governor, Hossein Kazempour Ardebili, told Reuters on Tuesday that Trump was mistaken if he expected Saudi Arabia and other oil producers to compensate for losses of Iranian oil caused by U.S. sanctions.
"It seems President Trump has been taken hostage by Saudi Arabia and a few producers when they claimed they can replace 2.5 million barrels per day of Iranian exports, encouraging him to take action against Iran,” Ardebili said.
"Now they and Russia sell more oil and more expensively. Not even from their incremental production but their stocks."
He said oil prices, which Trump has been pressuring the Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries to bring down by raising output, will instead rise unless the United States grants waivers to buyers of Iranian crude.
Iran’s currency plumbed new depths on Monday, dropping past 120,000 rials to the dollar, but Trump's expressed willingness to negotiate with Tehran sparked a minor recovery on Tuesday to 110,000 rials on the unofficial market.
Iranian Vice-President Eshagh Jahangiri said the government and the central bank would unveil a new economic plan by the end of this week to tackle the U.S. sanctions and the rial's fall.
Videos on social media showed hundreds of people rallying in Isfahan in central Iran, and Karaj near Tehran, in protest at high prices caused in part by the rial's devaluation under heightened U.S. pressure.