Iran says still ready for talks if US lifts sanctions

TEHRAN: Iran is willing to return to the negotiating table if the United States first drops sanctions, President Hassan Rouhani said Wednesday, after a fuel price hike sparked deadly violence ahead of elections. European countries have been pushing for talks with Iran to salvage a 2015 nuclear deal that has all but collapsed since the United States withdrew and reimposed sanctions last year. Rouhani has long demanded the lifting of US sanctions for Iran´s return to talks under the auspices of the so-called P5+1 that reached the deal — the five veto-wielding permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany. His latest statement comes after a shock announcement in mid-November that the price of petrol was going up by as much as 200 percent triggered demonstrations across Iran that turned deadly.