Rouhani
© AP/Iranian Presidency OfficeIranian President Hassan Rouhani
Iran is ready to hold negotiations with the United States if Washington lifts sanctions and gives up "bullying," Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said on Sunday.

Earlier in the day, Berlin, Paris and London called for a dialogue between all parties of the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), saying the deal risks falling apart due to the US sanctions against Iran and Tehran's decision to partially discontinue its obligations.

"We are always ready for negotiation. I tell you this hour and this moment to abandon bullying and lift the sanctions and return to logic and wisdom. We are ready," Rouhani said, as quoted by the Mehr news agency.

Rouhani added that Iran shifted its approach from "strategic patience" to "reciprocal action" and would respond in kind to any of Washington's steps related to the nuclear deal.

On May 8, 2018, US President Donald Trump unilaterally withdrew his country from the JCPOA and imposed several consecutive rounds of economic sanctions on Iran. A year later, Tehran announced its own decision to partially suspend obligations under the deal and giving the other signatories - France, Germany, the United Kingdom, Russia, China and the European Union - 60 days to save the accord by facilitating oil exports and trade with Iran.

On July 7, as the deadline expired, Iranian Deputy Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi announced that his country was ready to begin enriching uranium beyond the 3.67 percent level set in the JCPOA, adding that Tehran would go on gradually abandoning its nuclear commitments every 60 days.