Iran rules out direct talks with US while Trump exerts ‘maximum pressure’

Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has stated that Iran will not engage in direct negotiations with the US over its nuclear program as a result of US President Donald Trump’s “maximum pressure” on it.

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.

Aragchi and his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov spoke at a televised joint press conference in Tehran on Tuesday, saying, “Iran’s position regarding nuclear talks is clear and we will not negotiate under pressure and sanctions.”

As long as the US is exerting the most pressure, there are no prospects for direct negotiations.

Trump has reintroduced a tough policy against Iran that was in place during his first term and reinstated his “maximum pressure” campaign against Iran, which includes efforts to reduce the nation’s oil exports.

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.

Trump withdrew the US from Iran’s landmark 2015 nuclear agreement with six world powers in exchange for sanctions relief in 2018, during his first term.

Under former US President Joe Biden’s administration, efforts to revive the agreement failed, and Iran has since broken some of its restrictions.

After revoking late last year’s engagement with the trio known as the E3, Iran resumed its nuclear program discussions with Germany, France, and the United Kingdom on Monday.

Araghchi claimed to have informed Lavrov of the most recent exchanges.

He continued, “We will proceed with the cooperation and coordination of our friends in Russia and China.”

According to Iranian state media, the Russian foreign minister said he was certain that diplomatic measures were still being considered in light of Iran’s nuclear program.

Moscow and Tehran’s relations have gotten more rosy in recent years as Russia is also facing sanctions for its conflict with Ukraine. Both countries had invested in Syria, but their relationship ended in December when Bashar al-Assad, a steadfast ally, was removed.

Araghchi said Iran and Russia’s positions on Syria remain “very close”.

“Iran wants peace, stability, preservation of territorial integrity and unity, and the progress of Syria based on the will of the people”, he said.

Lavrov’s statement continued, “We will do our utmost to ensure that the Syrian people, as well as the people of neighboring states, are not in danger.”

Reporting from Tehran, Al Jazeera’s Tohid Asadi, said that the foreign ministers were trying to portray “a picture of a coordinated, collaborated and consistent position” on regional and bilateral issues.

Additionally, he said, there was a focus on the need to develop ties both economically and politically and to implement some sanctions.

Lavrov’s visit to Iran comes just days after US and Russian officials hold first direct talks since the start of the Ukrainian conflict.

After Washington and Moscow voted against UN resolutions on Monday to avoid condemning the Russian invasion, the Russian foreign minister praised Trump’s “balanced” position on the conflict in Ukraine.