Iran is open to negotiations with the United States but not under US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” strategy, its Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi made clear on Saturday.
“The lifting of sanctions requires negotiations, but not within the framework of a ‘maximum pressure’ policy, because it would not be a negotiation but a form of surrender,” Araqchi stated in a message published on Telegram and quoted by AFP.
His remarks followed a warning from Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who cautioned the government against engaging in talks with Washington, describing such a move as “reckless.”
Araqchi underscored Iran’s position on Saturday, asserting that “Iran does not want to negotiate with a country that is simultaneously imposing new sanctions.”
In 2018, during his first term in office, US President Donald Trump withdrew from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers, reinstating strict US sanctions as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign against Tehran.
In response, Iran has taken many steps to scale back its compliance with the deal.
In its latest step to advance its nuclear program, Iran recently informed the IAEA of its intention to "significantly increase" its production of uranium enriched up to 60 percent.
The Biden administration sought to return to the 2015 deal and held indirect talks with Iran on a return to compliance, but those talks failed due to Iran's insistence on the closure of the UN nuclear watchdog's investigations of its nuclear sites.
In his second term, Trump has reaffirmed his “maximum pressure” approach against Iran, and this past week imposed financial sanctions on individuals and entities accused of facilitating the shipment of hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil to China.
Trump recently stressed that Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon. Speaking to Sean Hannity on Fox News, the President stated, “The only thing I've said about Iran—and I want them to have a great country. They have great potential. The people are amazing. The only thing I've said about Iran, they can't have a nuclear weapon.
Asked by Hannity if he trusts Iran to abide by a deal, the President replied, “There are ways that you can make it absolutely certain, if you make a deal, a certain type of a deal. And you have to verify times 10. Yeah. But they cannot have a nuclear weapon.”