Iran's President Hassan Rouhani replies to a question during a news conference
IN PHOTO: Iran's President Hassan Rouhani replies to a question during a news conference on the sidelines of the 69th United Nations General Assembly at United Nations Headquarters in New York September 26, 2014. Rouhani said on Friday "courageous decisions" must be made to clinch a long-term nuclear agreement and that any deal without the lifting of all sanctions against Tehran was "unacceptable". REUTERS/Adrees Latif Reuters/Adrees Latif

Iran demands the removal of economic sanctions against it on the first day of the implementation of the nuclear deal. President Hassan Rouhani placed the condition on Thursday while Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei echoed similar views.

Khamenei did not disclose whether he was against or in favour of the deal as it was not finalised yet. He added that he was not sure if the deal would ever happen as he had "never been optimistic about negotiations with the U.S."

The U.S. officials, however, continue to stress that the deal is due any time. However, they say that sanctions against the Middle Eastern country will be removed in phases after the deal gets finalised. Iran reached a preliminary deal last week with six world powers, Germany, France, Russia, China, the U.K. and the U.S. According to the deal, economic sanctions against Iran will be lifted while it will restrict its nuclear program. Nevertheless, the final signing on the dotted lines is yet to be done.

While Mar. 31 was the previous deadline for reaching an agreement, national negotiators will now have to wait till Jun. 30 to finalise a deal. Khamenei said on Thursday that it would be too early to celebrate. "The other side, which is known for backpedalling on its commitments, may want to corner our country when it comes to the specifics," he said, “Officials say nothing has been done yet and that nothing is binding.”

Khamenei happens to be the one who has the final say on Iran’s political issues. He earlier referred to a White House fact sheet, which stated that sanctions against Iran would be removed after inspectors verified its compliance. According to Khamenei, it was "contrary to what was agreed." He was candid about his doubts regarding the intentions of “the other side.” According to him, the other side is into lying and breaching promises. He tweeted that the United States has always been deceptive.

Rouhani, on the other hand, said that the government would not tolerate bullying. He said at a ceremony to mark National Nuclear Technology Day in Tehran that Iran would not sign any deal unless all economic sanctions against Iran were lifted all at once on the very first day of the deal’s implementation.

Contact the writer: s.mukhopadhyay@ibtimes.com.au

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