Iran says it’s ready to negotiate with US, but not under ‘maximum pressure’ policy

Iran is ready to negotiate a new nuclear agreement with the United States but not under the “maximum pressure” strategy of US President Donald Trump, Tehran’s chief diplomat suggested on Saturday, Report informs via The Times of Israel.

“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 on Friday 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, saying that negotiations with the US “are not intelligent, wise or honorable.”

In 2015, Iran struck a landmark deal with the United States, France, Germany, Britain, China and Russia to regulate its nuclear program 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, crippling the country’s economy.