Iran will not negotiate under ‘pressure, threat, or sanctions’

IRNA- Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi says Iran will not hold negotiations with the United States on its nuclear program as long as a “maximum pressure” campaign, restored by U.S. President Donald Trump early this month, continues to be enforced against the country.

“We will coordinate our positions on the nuclear issue in cooperation with our friends in Russia and China. Iran’s stance on the nuclear negotiations is crystal clear: We will not negotiate under pressure, threat, or sanctions,” he said at a joint press conference with his Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov, who arrived in Tehran for talks with Iranian officials earlier on Tuesday. 

“Therefore, there will be no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as ‘maximum pressure’ is enforced in its current form,” he added.  

The Russian Foreign Ministry said earlier that diplomacy to revive the 2015 nuclear deal, officially called the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, was one of the topics Lavrov would discuss with his Iranian counterpart in Tehran.

The agreement, to which Russia is a signatory, has been close to collapse since it was unilaterally abandoned by the U.S. in 2018, during President Donald Trump’s first term in office.

Earlier this month, Trump restored his “maximum pressure” campaign on Iran, which his administration officials say includes, among other things, efforts to bring the country’s oil exports down to zero.

Asked about the situation in Syria at the press conference, Araghchi said Iran’s position is closely aligned with that of Russia. The Islamic Republic supports the establishment of “peace and stability” in Syria, he added.

Touching on the Israeli aggression in the region, particularly against Palestine and Lebanon, the top diplomat said Iran and Russia have held “extensive discussions” on the matter.

Araghchi added that in his meeting with Lavrov, they underscored the “unified stance” of regional countries against any forced displacement of Palestinians from their homeland. He said Trump’s proposal for the U.S. to take over Gaza after the enclave is forcibly cleared of its residents is “unacceptable.”

Lavrov, for his part, said he had “extensive, useful, and constructive” discussions with the Iranian foreign minister in Tehran.

On the standoff over Iran’s nuclear program, he said Russia believed that diplomacy was still the best option to resolve this “crisis that was not created by Iran.”

The Russian diplomat said he hoped a joint economic cooperation commission would be established this year to streamline trade transactions between Russia and Iran. He pointed out that trade exchanges between Iran and Russia have increased by over 13 percent, saying he was positive this “positive trend” will continue.