BAKU, Azerbaijan, February 25. Iran will not negotiate over the country's nuclear program under pressure, threats, and sanctions against the country, Iranian Foreign Minister Seyyed Abbas Araghchi said at a press conference with Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Tehran on February 25, Trend reports.
According to him, Iran's position on the country's nuclear program and related nuclear discussions is absolutely clear.
Araghchi stated that there will not be direct talks between Iran and the US while the US continues to exert maximum pressure and threats against the country.
Meanwhile, on February 5, US President Donald Trump signed an executive order to restore maximum pressure on Iran. The US President expressed hope that the maximum pressure will not be applied too often. He also noted that he is ready for dialog with the Iranian president.
On January 16, 2016, the JCPOA came into force between Iran and the P5+1 group (US, Russia, China, the UK, France, and Germany) regarding Iran’s nuclear program. However, on May 8, 2018, the US withdrew from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) between Iran and the 5+1 group (Russia, China, the UK, France, the US, and Germany) and imposed new sanctions on Iran starting from November 2018.
By the end of 2020, the Iranian parliament decided to pursue a strategic plan in the nuclear sector to counter the sanctions, leading to a suspension of additional steps and the Additional Protocol as per the nuclear agreement.
Consequently, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) faced a reduction in monitoring capabilities by 20–30 percent.
Iran has officially affirmed that its strategy is not to pursue the development of an atomic bomb and that it does not support the production of weapons of mass destruction.