Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that Iran was ready for "serious" talks on its nuclear programme and that US calls for tougher sanctions showed a lack of understanding.

Iranian President Hassan Rouhani said Tuesday that Iran was ready for "serious" talks on its nuclear programme and that US calls for tougher sanctions showed a lack of understanding.

Rouhani yet stressed, during his first press conference since taking office on Saturday,  that his call to hold nuclear talks does not reflect any  intention to alienate the Iranian rights in all domains.

Rouhani lashed out the US "contradictory" attitudes towards Iran and deemed that the recent White House statement that called for Iranian-US nuclear talks and the approval of a new round of sanctions reflect the lack of understanding of the Iranian reality. 

"The US actions and moves show contradictory messages and attitudes," he stated.

"Based on the national consensus and the government's firm resolve to protect the Iranian rights, we will interact constructively with the practical moves of the United States," Rouhani stressed.

Rouhani considered that the United States is not preserving even its own interests by imposing sanctions on Tehran, yet "the hawks of the US administration are serving the interests of a foreign country via such decisions."