The United States renewed its offer to engage in talks with Iran on Thursday but warned it will do everything in its power "to curb malign Iranian behavior" if Tehran continues to destabilize the Middle East.
The U.S. ambassador at the United Nations, Kelly Craft, said the Trump administration also "rejects Iran's use of nuclear brinkmanship to normalize its destabilizing behavior."
She commented at a U.N. Security Council meeting on the implementation of a resolution endorsing the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and key world powers.
Iranian Ambassador Majid Takht Ravanchi called the U.S. offer of unconditional talks "disingenuous."
The U.S. wants to enter dialogue from a position of strength from maintaining sanctions and maximum pressure, "and not based on equal footing," he said. "Iran does not negotiate under the threat of a sword," Ravanchi said.