Iran said it was ready to negotiate with the United States, but firmly rejected the “maximum pressure” approach adopted by former U.S. President Donald Trump.
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Saturday, February 8 that negotiations cannot be conducted under such a strategy, describing it as “a form of surrender.”
“Removal of sanctions requires negotiation, not within the framework of the ‘maximum pressure’ policy, because it is not negotiation, but a form of surrender,” Araghchi said in a statement on Telegram.
The statement was a remark from Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who warned the government not to hold talks with Washington and marked the negotiations as “reckless.” Khamenei pointed out Iran’s past experience in negotiations with the United States, proving his position.
In 2015, Iran reached a landmark nuclear agreement with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia that eased international sanctions in exchange for a replacement for regulating its nuclear program. However, in 2018, Trump unilaterally withdrew from the United States and restored severe sanctions on Iran, a move that met resistance from European allies.
Recently, Trump reiterated his position, calling for a “verified nuclear peace agreement” with Iran, while stressing that the country “cannot possess nuclear weapons.” Despite these calls, Washington’s pressure campaign has doubled, with new financial sanctions last week against entities and individuals allegedly involved in delivering Iranian crude oil to China.
Araghchi criticized the contradictory message from the United States and said: “Iran does not want to negotiate with a country that imposes new sanctions at the same time.” Tehran insists that its nuclear program is purely for peaceful purposes and denies the development of nuclear weapons. Any ambition.
