Iran rejects dialogue with US after fresh sanctions

Iran's UN ambassador said Monday that conditions were not ripe for a dialogue with the United States after President Donald Trump imposed new sanctions on Tehran.

As the UN Security Council met behind closed doors, Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi told reporters that the United States must stop "its economic war against the Iranian people."

"You cannot start a dialogue with somebody who is threatening you, who is intimidating you," said Ravanchi.

"The atmosphere of such a dialogue is not ready yet." The ambassador spoke a few hours after the United States announced a raft of new sanctions that target Iran's supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei and eight Iranian commanders.

The US Treasury also said it plans to blacklist Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif, stepping up pressure on Tehran to address US demands.

"As long as this threat is there, there is no way that Iran and the US can start a dialogue," said the ambassador.

Ravanchi renewed an appeal for talks with regional ...