Tehran, Iran – Iran was ready to negotiate with the United States but not under the “maximum pressure” strategy of US President Donald Trump, Tehran’s chief diplomat suggested 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,” said Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi in a statement published on Telegram.
The foreign minister’s statement came after Iranian supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urged the government not to negotiate with Washington, calling such an approach “reckless”.
Khamenei, who has the final say on all strategic decisions in Iran, referred to Iran’s previous experience negotiating with the United States to justify his position.
In 2015, Iran struck a landmark deal with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia to regulate its nuclear programme in return for the easing of international sanctions.
However, in 2018, during his first term, Trump unilaterally withdrew the United States from the agreement and reinstated heavy sanctions on Tehran, despite European opposition.
Trump on Wednesday called for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, adding that it “cannot have a nuclear weapon”.
Iran insists its nuclear programme is solely for peaceful purposes and denies any intention to develop atomic weapons.
The US president, however, reinstated on Tuesday his “maximum pressure” policy, with Washington on Thursday announcing financial sanctions on entities and individuals accused of shipping hundreds of millions of dollars’ worth of Iranian crude oil to China.
Aragchi said on Saturday that “Iran does not want to negotiate with a country that is simultaneously imposing new sanctions”.