Iran’s Rouhani rules out direct US talks

President Hassan Rouhani yesterday ruled out holding any bilateral talks with the United States and threatened to further cut Iran’s commitments to a nuclear deal within days. In an address to parliament, Rouhani said any dialogue with the US would have to fall within the framework of the group of major powers that agreed the landmark nuclear deal with Iran in 2015. Rouhani also said Iran was ready to further reduce its commitments to the accord “in the coming days” if current negotiations with European nations yield no results by Thursday. Tehran and Washington have been at loggerheads since May last year.