DUBAI: Iran will never succumb to U.S. pressure and if Washington wants talks with Tehran it should show respect, Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said on Monday.

Tension between Tehran and Washington have risen sharply in recent weeks, a year after Washington exited a 2015 deal between Iran and world powers which curbed Tehran’s nuclear programme in exchange for the lifting of international financial sanctions.

Trump has called for talks with Iran’s clerical rulers with “no preconditions”. Tehran has ruled this out, saying Trump should return to the deal if he wants to negotiate with Iran.

Tehran called the latest sanctions “idiotic” and warned U.S. over violation of its airspace. Washington said the drone was in international skies when downed by Iran. —Reuters