Iran rules out direct talks with US while Trump exerts ‘maximum pressure’
Iran will not engage in direct talks with the United States on his country’s nuclear programme amid US President Donald Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” against it, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has said.
His remarks came a day after the US imposed a fresh round of sanctions targeting Iran’s oil industry, the Iran’s main source of income.
“Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions,” Aragchi said during a televised joint press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov in Tehran on Tuesday.
“There is no possibility of direct negotiations with the US as long as maximum pressure is being applied in this way.”
Following his return to the White House last month, Trump has restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran that includes efforts to drive the country’s oil exports to zero, reimposing a tough policy on Iran that was practiced throughout his first term.
Earlier this month, Iran’s top authority Ayatollah Ali Khamenei also said that talks with the US were “not smart, wise, or honourable”.
However, he stopped short of renewing a ban on direct talks with Washington decreed during the first Trump administration.
In 2018, during his first term, Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear deal with six world powers that had imposed curbs on Iran’s nuclear programme in return for sanctions relief.
Iran has since breached some of the deal’s limitations and efforts to revive the accord failed under the administration of former US President Joe Biden.
On Monday, Iran held a new round of talks with Germany, France and Britain about its nuclear programme after reviving engagement with the trio, known as the E3, late last year.
Araghchi said he had briefed Lavrov about the latest discussions.
“On the nuclear issue, we will move forward with the cooperation and coordination of our friends in Russia and China,” he added.
The Russian foreign minister said he was sure that diplomatic measures were still on the table when it came to resolving issues around Iran’s nuclear programme, Iranian state media reported.
