In his latest statements regarding the reimposition of US sanctions, Iran’s President Hassan Rouhani struck a defiant tone. But he left the door open for future talks with the United States despite the fact that such a process would only occur in the distant future.

“This time we will proudly break the sanctions because they are bullying,” said Rouhani at a meeting with officials of the Ministry of Economic Affairs and Finance, which he referred to as the “tip of the endurance arrow.”

Rouhani added that this new round of sanctions is “against the law, treaties and a UN resolution.” The Iranian nuclear deal between Iran and the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany was endorsed by United Nations Security Council Resolution 2231. However, then-US President Barrack Obama never presented the deal as a treaty given that it would never have received congressional support.

During the 2016 election, US President Donald Trump vowed to exit from the nuclear deal, officially known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. While the Trump administration has stated its plans to cut Iran’s oil exports to zero, so far it has given exemptions to eight countries: China, India, Italy, Greece, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan and Turkey. Rouhani referred to these exemptions as a “victory” and a US “retreat” from its original positions.