Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian. [Photo/Agencies]
The "maximum pressure" campaign by the United States against Iran has undermined the foundation for negotiations between the two countries, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has emphasized.
US President Donald Trump "says he wants to negotiate, yet at the same time, he signs a document (ordering) all kinds of plots to bring the Islamic Revolution to its knees," Pezeshkian said during an event marking the 46th anniversary of the victory of Iran's Islamic Revolution on Monday.
Trump signed an executive order on Feb 4 to restore the so-called "maximum pressure" campaign on Iran with a claimed aim to prevent the Islamic Republic from obtaining nuclear weapons.
The US Department of the Treasury on Thursday began sanctions on over a dozen people and firms accused of facilitating the shipment of Iranian crude oil.
Reacting to US calls for negotiations over Teheran's nuclear program, Iran's Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi on Monday stressed that the country would never enter into negotiations under pressure and threats, the Islamic Republic News Agency reported, adding the US had a long track record of oath-breaking, including pulling out of the 2015 nuclear deal, the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action.
"Today, we are faced with a president in the United States who has returned to the maximum pressure policy against Iran's people," Araghchi said.
"The interesting point is that while signing a document to issue an order for placing the Iranian people under the highest pressures, concurrently, the US president spoke of his readiness for negotiations as a means of deception," he said.
Abdolreza Alami, a member of the Faculty of Mass Communication, Universiti Teknologi MARA and director of Asia West East, told China Daily that Iranian leaders have repeatedly emphasized that negotiations must be conducted under fair and balanced conditions, not when one side is exerting maximum pressure, Alami said.
"Rather than creating an environment for fair dialogue, Washington seeks to use economic tools and political pressure to extract maximum concessions. From the Supreme Leader's perspective, any negotiation held under coercion and threats is not only irrational but also doomed to fail from the outset," Alami said.
As Trump pursues aggressive and uncooperative policies against many nations, Iran has the opportunity to strengthen its international position and form new alliances, Alami stated. In this context, moving toward a diversified economy, reducing dependency on the dollar, and developing regional cooperation stand out as the most viable strategies for Iran to navigate the crisis of sanctions, Alami said.
Xinhua and agencies contributed to this story.
