Speaking on national television as the Persian New Year turned, Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi said that as far as U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies vis-à-vis Iran were concerned, the times had not changed.
Speaking on national television as the Persian New Year turned on Thursday, Araqchi said that as far as U.S. President Donald Trump’s policies vis-à-vis Iran were concerned, the times had not changed.
“The situation brought about by America’s new president is not new to us; we experienced this ‘maximum pressure’ in [his] last term in office. Some are [now] calling it — jokingly or not — ‘maximum pressure 2.0,’” the foreign minister said.
“By God’s grace, and the blessings of Laylat al-Qadrs [Nights of Power], we will overcome the complexities of U.S. politics and navigate those complexities to secure the interests and national security of Iran,” he said.
U.S. President Trump sent a letter to Iran via an emissary from the United Arab Emirates (UAE) on March 12. Days earlier, Trump had himself revealed that he had penned a letter to Leader of the Islamic Revolution Ayatollah Seyyed Ali Khamenei, asking that negotiations be reopened into negotiating a new deal.
Ayatollah Khamenei has reiterated that Iran will not negotiate with the United States because Tehran does not trust that Washington would adhere to any contractual obligations. The Leader has referred to Iran’s experience in negotiating and making a deal with the United States and other governments in the 2010s — an agreement that Trump himself unilaterally withdrew the U.S. from in 2018.
The Ministry of Foreign Affairs has said Iran has reviewed Trump’s letter and will respond in the coming days.
In his Thursday remarks, Araqchi said the Foreign Ministry would spare no effort to secure Iran’s interests.
“We have before us the interests of the Iranian nation, and that’s where we will be moving toward,” he said.
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