"I do not think that such a meeting is going to take place," Ebrahim Raeisi told CBS News' 60 Minutes program during an interview conducted Tuesday, which the channel is going to broadcast in full on Sunday.
Raeisi made the comment when he was asked, "Are you open to a meeting with President Biden? A face-to-face?" adding, "I don't believe having a meeting or a talk with him will be beneficial."
The Iranian president was also asked whether he could see any differences between the Biden administration and the administration of his predecessor Donald Trump.
"The new administration in the US, they claim that they are different from the Trump administration," Raeisi said, adding, "They have said it in their messages to us. But we haven't witnessed any changes in reality."
The United States, under former president Donald Trump, abandoned the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers in May 2018.
In quitting the agreement, Trump restored sanctions on Iran as part of what he called the “maximum pressure” campaign against the country. Those sanctions are being enforced to this day by the Joe Biden administration, even though it has repeatedly acknowledged that the policy has been a mistake and a failure.
On his campaign trail, Biden alleged that he intended to return the US to the deal. He has, however, stopped short of taking any such measure, and has even imposed more sanctions on Iran.
ZZ/PR