A letter to Rouhani on Tuesday signed by 150 MPs notes that the White House has pinned hope on talks with Tehran but the history Washington’s animosities in the past 40 years prove that Iran’s decision not to talk with the ‘great Satan’ is completely rational.

“Your previous remarks [regarding talks with US] had worried those who care about the Islamic Establishment,” reads the statement, adding that Rouhani’s recent rejection of talks has killed all the hopes in Washington.

MPs further called on the Iranian President to continue this path more firmly.

Last week, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani had said that key to “positive developments” is in the hands of Washington, noting that if meeting with a foreign official would lead to Iran’s development, he would not reject it. The remarks came amid President Macron’s announcement that grounds are prepared for a visit between US President Donald Trump and Iranian President Rouhani.

MPs then criticized Rouhani’s stance and gathered to sign a statement to ban any form of negotiations with Washington.

Rouhani, who attended Parliament’s open session on Tuesday, highlighted that no talks with the United States is on the agenda.

“We’ve said it before time and again, and we say it again: We have no intention to hold bilateral talks with the United States. We never did and never will. It has been the case in the past year and a half, and even in previous years. There have been calls for talks, but we never responded to them,” he said.

“When we talk about negotiations, we only mean it under the situation where all sanctions have been lifted; that is, the situation we previously had under the JCPOA. Our stance is clear,” Rouhani stressed.

Tensions started to build up between the US and Iran after President Trump withdrew Washington from the 2015 nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) in May 2018, and imposed sanctions against Tehran in a bid to restrict the country’s trade transactions with the world. The Trump administration has been making empty calls for talks, but the Islamic Republic stresses that as long as sanctions are in place and the US refuses to return to the JCPOA, negotiations will be meaningless.