Iran's President Hassan Rouhani is not "optimistic" about ongoing nuclear negotiations with world powers, the official IRNA news agency reported Monday, ahead of a new round of talks this week.

"The government is not optimistic about the Westerners and the current negotiations," Rouhani was quoted as saying.

"But it does not mean that we should not have hope for removing the problems," he said referring to international sanctions hurting Iran's ailing economy.