Iran rejects nuclear talks with US under pressure, reaffirms Tehran’s peaceful intent

Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi has ruled out negotiations with the U.S. over its nuclear program “under pressure.”

“Iran's nuclear energy program has always been—and will always remain—entirely peaceful. There is fundamentally therefore no such thing as its ‘potential militarization’,” Caliber.Az quotes the minister as saying on his X account.

"We will NOT negotiate under pressure and intimidation. We will NOT even consider it, no matter what the subject may be. Negotiation is different from bullying and issuing diktats. 

We are now consulting with the E3—and separately with Russia and China—on equal footing and mutual respect. The aim is to explore ways to build more confidence and more transparency on our nuclear energy program in return for the lifting of unlawful sanctions.

In the past, the US enjoyed respect from Iran whenever it was respectful in its discourse, and it was confronted whenever it adopted a threatening posture. Every action compels a reaction," 

Since beginning his second term in January, Trump has signaled openness to a new deal with Tehran while simultaneously reinstating an aggressive sanctions campaign, including efforts to drive Iran’s oil exports to zero.

Trump first launched the so-called “maximum pressure” campaign in 2018 after withdrawing the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear agreement between Iran and world powers. The deal had placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.

Following the U.S. withdrawal, Iran has significantly exceeded the deal’s nuclear restrictions. Efforts by President Joe Biden’s administration and European leaders to revive the agreement ultimately failed.

By Khagan Isayev