Iran’s FM says he is open to dialogue, but won’t respond to West’s ‘threats and pressure’

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates — Iran’s foreign minister says that Tehran is open to diplomacy to solve disputes but not “threats and pressure,” state media reports after the US and three European powers imposed sanctions against the country’s aviation sector.

Abbas Araqchi’s comments come a day after The European Union’s chief diplomat said the bloc is considering new sanctions targeting Iran’s aviation sector, in reaction to reports Tehran supplied Russia with ballistic missiles in its war against Ukraine.

“Iran continues on its own path with strength, although we have always been open to talks to resolve disputes… but dialogue should be based on mutual respect, not on threats and pressure,” Araqchi says, according to the official news agency IRNA.

Araqchi said on Wednesday that Tehran had not delivered any ballistic missiles to Russia and sanctions imposed on Iran by the United States and three European powers would not solve any problems between them.

The United States, Germany, Britain, and France on Tuesday imposed new sanctions on Iran, including measures against its national airline Iran Air.