Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said no to a meeting with President Trump last month, when Rouhani was in New York City for the U.N. General Assembly, Iran's foreign ministry said Sunday.
ILNA, Iran's semi-official news agency, reported that Bahram Ghasemi, spokesman for the ministry, said "an intention was expressed by the American side that was not approved by President Rouhani." Diplomatic ties between the U.S. and Iran were cut in 1979, and when former President Barack Obama and Rouhani spoke over the phone in 2013, it was the highest level of contact between Tehran and Washington in several decades.