Ebrahim Raisi
Ebrahim RaisiReuters/Majid Asgaripour/WANA

Iranian President Ebrahim Raisi said on Saturday that his country is ready to hold talks with world powers to revive the 2015 nuclear deal but not under Western "pressure", Reuters reported.

He added that Tehran is seeking negotiations leading to a lifting of US sanctions on the country.

"The Westerners and the Americans are after talks together with pressure ... What kind of talks is that? I have already announced that we will have talks on our government's agenda but not with ... pressure," Raisi was quoted as having told state television.

"Talks are on the agenda ... We are seeking goal-oriented negotiations ... so unjust sanctions on the Iranian people are lifted ... and their lives can flourish," he added.

Iran has gradually scaled back its compliance with the 2015 deal in response to former US President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the agreement in May of 2018, but current President Joe Biden wants to bring Washington back into the agreement.

The negotiations were adjourned on June 20, two days after Raisi won Iran's presidential election, and no date has been set for a resumption of dialogue.

Last week, both France and Germany urged Iran to return rapidly to nuclear negotiations.

France's Foreign Minister Jean-Yves Le Drian told his newly-appointed Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in a telephone call it was urgent for Tehran to return to the talks.

Germany also raised pressure on Tehran, asking it to resume talks "as soon as possible."

On Friday, the top US envoy for negotiations with Iran, Robert Malley, said the Biden administration “can’t wait forever” for Iran to decide it wants to restart talks.

“We can’t wait forever as Iran continues its nuclear advances because at some point their advances will be such as to make a return to the JCPOA much less valuable to the US than it would otherwise be,” Malley told Bloomberg, although he added that the US was “prepared to be patient.”