Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Sunday that the United States is not ready for “equal and fair negotiations,” with Tehran despite US President Donald Trump’s remarks about potential discussions, according to Reuters.
“The US cannot expect to gain what it couldn’t in war through negotiations,” Araghchi said during a Tehran conference named “international law under assault.”
Last week, Trump stated that Iran has been asking about the possibility of lifting the US sanctions against Tehran.
“Iran has been asking if the sanctions could be lifted. Iran has got very heavy US sanctions, and it makes it really hard for them to do what they’d like to be able to do. And I’m open to hearing that, and we’ll see what happens, but I would be open to it,” Trump told reporters.
Trump has been increasing pressure on Iran after the snapback sanctions took into effect on September 28, leaving harmful impacts on Tehran.
Both countries held five rounds of nuclear talks before Israel targeted Iranian nuclear facilities on June 13.
However, these talks faced key stumbling blocks such as uranium enrichment on Iranian soil, a step met with utter rejection by European powers which claimed that Tehran is enriching uranium for unpeaceful purposes.
Araqchi noted that his country will always be ready to engage in diplomacy, “but not negotiations meant for dictation.”
Meanwhile, Deputy Foreign Minister Saeed Khatibzadeh accused the US of pursuing its wartime goals with “negotiations as a show.”
Related Topics:
Iran Seeks to Reach ‘Peaceful Nuclear Deal’ with US
Oman Urges Revival of US-Iran Nuclear Talks
Iran Pledges to Rebuild Nuclear Sites ‘Stronger than Before’
