Iran denies Tehran asked U.S. to lift sanctions

Iran has never asked the United States to lift its sanctions, Secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council (SNSC) Ali Larijani said on November 10.

"There has been no message to the U.S. but the Iranians do want these sanctions to be lifted. Is there someone out there who thinks that we want the sanctions to stay in place?" Ali Larijani said.

According to him, the Iranian government is sparing no effort to have the sanctions removed but it did not send any signals via diplomatic channels. The official pointed out that the last time Tehran tried to negotiate with the U.S., it ended in a 12-day war and attacks on Iranian nuclear sites.