TEHRAN – Legislator Mohammad Saleh Jokar has said that the United States’ presidents have spared no effort in harming the Iranian people and therefore the country has no will to hold talks with Washington.

“It is not so long since the United States’ crime in assassinating General Soleimani and the regional people have not forgotten that this crime was committed by order of the current president of the United States,” Jokar told the Tasnim news agency in an interview published on Sunday.

He also noted that talks with the U.S. will not result in the removal of sanctions.

His comments came as a response to a Trump’s tweet in which he thanked Iran for releasing U.S. Navy veteran Michael White, proposing talks.

“So great to have Michael home. Just arrived. Very exciting. Thank you to Iran. Don’t wait until after U.S. Election to make the Big deal,” Trump said in his tweet on Friday.

Ali Motahari, a former top lawmaker, has said that talks with the U.S. president are synonymous with talks with the “murderer” of General Soleimani.

“Trump has proposed talks with Iran before the United States’ elections. We have to tell him if there was a minimal chance for talks before the assassination of General Soleimani, it is ruined by your crime, because it [talks with the U.S.] means talks with murderer of Soleimani,” tweeted Motahari who served as deputy parliament speaker in the previous parliament.

On January 3, Trump ordered airstrikes that martyred General Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, the second-in-command of Iraq’s Popular Mobilization Units (PMU), in Baghdad’s international airport.

In the early hours of January 8, the IRGC fired dozens of ballistic missiles at a military airbase hosting U.S. forces in Iraq as part of its promised “tough revenge” for the U.S. terrorist attack.

Soleimani was recognized internationally as a legendary commander in the war against terrorist groups, especially Daesh (ISIS).

NA/PA