Iran's President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that new US sanctions against senior Iranian officials including top diplomat Mohammad Javad Zarif showed Washington is "lying" about offering to negotiate.

"At the same time as you call for negotiations you seek to sanction the foreign minister? It's obvious that you're lying," Rouhani said in a meeting with ministers broadcast live on TV.

His comments came after US National Security Advisor John Bolton said Washington had "held the door open to real negotiations" but that "in response, Iran's silence has been deafening.

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