Tehran, September 11 (RHC)-- Iranian President Hassan Rouhani called on the United States administration to distance themselves from war hawks like John Bolton in the future if they want to improve relations with the Islamic Republic.

“America should understand that ... it should distance itself from warmongers,” Iran’s semi-official Tasnim news agency quoted President Hassan Rouhani as saying on Wednesday, without mentioning Bolton.

Rouhani, who reiterated his nation's demand that the U.S. halt their sanctions against Iran, said Bolton's firing raises the prospects for peace talks, as he was one of the main obstacles at the negotations table.

“Iran’s policy of resistance will not change as long as our enemy (the United States) continues to put pressure on Iran,” said Rouhani, the president who won two landslide elections in Iran on promises to open it up to the world.

Bolton has arguably been one of the biggest war hawks against Iran in the Trump administration, as he has repeatedly threatened the Islamic Republic with force.  Last year, the United States pulled out of an international accord between Iran and world powers under which Tehran accepted curbs on its nuclear program in return for access to world trade.

Washington says the agreement reached by Trump’s predecessor Barack Obama was too week because many of its terms expire in a decade and it does not cover non-nuclear issues such as Iran’s missile program and regional behavior.

The White House has followed what the administration calls a policy of “maximum pressure”, including sanctions aimed at halting all Iranian oil exports, saying its ultimate aim is to push Tehran to the table for talks on a new, tougher deal.