Iran’s foreign minister made assertions after the United States slapped a fresh round of sanctions on the country’s oil industry.
Iran has ruled out holding direct talks with Washington as long the latter’s policy of applying “maximum pressure” on Tehran—recently revived by U.S. President Donald Trump—remains in place.
“Iran’s stance on the nuclear negotiations is crystal clear,” Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said at a joint press conference in Tehran with Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov on Feb. 25.
“We will not negotiate under pressure, threat, or sanctions,” Araqchi said in remarks cited by Iran’s Islamic Republic News Agency.
“Therefore, there will be no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as ‘maximum pressure’ is enforced in its current form.”
The United States on Monday imposed a fresh round of sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, the Islamic Republic’s primary source of revenue.
Earlier this month, Trump revived his “maximum pressure” approach to Iran, which he had applied throughout much of his first term in office.
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Ostensibly aimed at stopping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, the policy entails a range of measures aimed at reducing Iranian oil exports to zero.
“It’s very simple. Iran cannot have a nuclear weapon,” Trump said on Feb. 4 after signing a presidential memorandum reimposing his “maximum pressure” policy.
He added, however, that he was still open to engaging in talks with Tehran, voicing a willingness to meet his Iranian counterpart, Masoud Pezeshkian.
During his first term, Trump withdrew the United States from a seminal 2015 deal that had sought to limit Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
After withdrawing from the agreement (known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, or JCPOA), Trump reimposed sanctions on Iran, dealing a fresh blow to the country’s economy.
Along with Iran and the United States, the JCPOA was originally signed by Russia, China, France, the United Kingdom, and Germany.
Speaking alongside Lavrov in Tehran, Araqchi said Iran would “coordinate” its position on future nuclear talks with its “friends in Russia and China.”
Since Russia invaded eastern Ukraine in early 2022, inviting the wrath of most Western capitals, it has drawn increasingly close to Iran and China.
In mid-January, Moscow and Tehran signed a 20-year strategic partnership agreement.
While the deal does not include a mutual defense clause, it enjoins both parties to work in tandem to counter perceived external military threats.
U.S. Middle East envoy Steve Witkoff; U.S. Secretary of State Marco Rubio; U.S. national security adviser Mike Waltz; the Russian president’s foreign policy adviser, Yuri Ushakov; and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov meet in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia, on Feb. 18, 2025. Evelyn Hockstein/Pool/AFP via Getty Images
Lavrov: Still Room for Diplomacy
Speaking in Tehran, Lavrov did not rule out a diplomatic solution to the JCPOA issue, saying he and Araqchi had spoken “at length” about Iran’s nuclear program.
“We are convinced that diplomatic resources have not yet been exhausted and should not be disregarded,” Lavrov told reporters.
“They must be used effectively, without threats or hints of military solutions,” he said in remarks cited by Russia’s TASS news agency.
He also stressed that Moscow and Tehran remain committed “to continuing efforts to find mutually acceptable solutions to get out of the current situation.”
At the press conference, Lavrov also said that he had briefed Iranian officials on the outcome of landmark Russia–U.S. talks held in the Saudi capital of Riyadh last week.
“I shared our assessments of recent contacts with our American colleagues, including on this issue,” he said, referring to the JCPOA and Iran’s nuclear program.
On Feb. 18, top U.S. and Russian officials—including Lavrov and his U.S. counterpart, Marco Rubio—held lengthy discussions in Saudi Arabia.
Later described by both sides as productive, the talks were largely devoted to finding a means of ending the three-year war between Russia and Ukraine.
Speaking in Tehran, Lavrov said he and his Iranian counterpart had also “touched upon the situation in Ukraine.”
He also thanked Iran for what he described as its “neutral position” regarding the conflict—a position he attributed to Tehran’s “understanding of the root causes of the crisis.”
Lavrov’s one-day visit to the Iranian capital was preceded by a similar trip to Turkey and followed by a visit to Qatar on Feb. 26.
Reuters contributed to this report.
