Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said that his country will not engage in talks with the United States unless negotiations are free from pressure and threats.
Speaking in a recent interview with Iran newspaper, Araghchi said that Tehran will achieve nothing if it enters the talks under US President Donald Trump's so-called maximum pressure campaign, Press TV reported.
The ineffectiveness of the policy of pressure must be proven to the US before the Islamic Republic can sit at the negotiating table on equal terms, he said, adding that Iran's strategy to counter the "maximum pressure" policy is "maximum resistance."
The top diplomat further expressed his satisfaction with the mediating role played by the Europeans in the last round of discussions aimed at lifting anti-Iran sanctions, saying the country will continue the talks with the Europeans in parallel with close consultations with Russia and China.
"But ultimately, the US must lift the sanctions. We will enter direct negotiations when we are on an equal footing, free from pressure and threats, and confident that the people's national interests will be secured," he emphasized.
Araghchi also said that Iran has a plan for possible nuclear negotiations while it engages in the ongoing indirect talks and cooperates with the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) and its chief Rafael Grossi.
Last week, Trump claimed in an interview with Fox News that he had sent a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, warning Iran to open talks on a nuclear deal or be handled militarily.
Iran said for several days that it had not received such a letter.
bd-pratidin/GR
