Iran’s FM says nuclear talks with US only possible once Trump changes policy
Tehran not opposed to negotiations out of ‘stubbornness,’ says Abbas Araghchi, but has learned from past experiences with US
Talks with the US are impossible unless Washington changes its pressure policy, the Iranian foreign minister said on Sunday, as Iran prepares to respond to President Donald Trump’s letter proposing negotiations on a new nuclear deal.
Iran this month received a letter from Trump giving it two months to decide whether it would enter new negotiations or face stricter sanctions under a renewed “maximum pressure” campaign.
While Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei rejected the offer for talks as deceptive, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said on Thursday that Tehran would soon reply to both the letter’s threats and opportunities.
On Sunday Araghchi added that Iran was not opposed to talks out of “stubbornness,” but rather as a result of history and experience, adding that Washington needs to recalibrate its policy before Tehran takes part in talks.
In his first term, Trump withdrew the United States from a 2015 deal between Iran and major powers that had placed strict limits on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After Trump pulled out in 2018 and restored sanctions, Iran breached and far surpassed those limits in the development of its nuclear program.
“In my opinion, the 2015 pact in its current form cannot be revived. It would not be in our interest because our nuclear situation has advanced significantly and we can no longer return to previous conditions,” Araghchi said.
“The same can be said of the other side’s sanctions. The 2015 nuclear pact can still be a basis and model for negotiations.”
Iran, which is sworn to Israel’s destruction, denies seeking a nuclear weapon, but it has ramped up its enrichment of uranium up to 60 percent purity, the only country in the world without a nuclear weapons program to do so, and has obstructed international inspectors from checking its nuclear facilities.
US Secretary of State Marco Rubio said last week that Trump will not allow Iran to obtain a nuclear weapon, saying, “If you force him to choose between a nuclear Iran or taking [military] action, the president has been clear he will take action.”
The Times of Israel Community.