Tehran slams first wave of US sanctions on Iranian oil networks

Trump on Tuesday reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran from his first term but said he preferred a deal. Relative moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly expressed openness to US talks.

“Negotiating with such a government should not be done; it is neither wise, intelligent nor honorable,” the the 85-year-old veteran theocrat who has the ultimate say over Iranian policy told a group of air force personnel in Tehran.

Khamenei accused Washington of perfidy over the last international nuclear deal in 2015, from which Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.

The comments were his strongest since Trump returned to office and come after the hawkish US president appeared to offer Tehran an olive branch this week, saying, "I really want to see peace ... (but) they cannot have a nuclear weapon".

"It's very simple. I'm not putting restrictions. They cannot have one thing," Trump said.

Iranian officials including Pezeshkian quickly said proving the peaceful aims of Iran's nuclear program to Trump could be easily done. US ally and Iran's arch-foe Israel says Tehran is aiming for a bomb, which it views as an existential threat.

Trump this week shocked the region by mooting the takeover of Gaza by US troops and its redevelopment into the "Riviera of the Middle East" - an idea Khamenei pilloried.

“The Americans sit and redraw the world map on paper—but it’s only on paper, with no basis in reality. They make statements about us, express opinions and issue threats."

"If they threaten us, we will threaten them. If they act on those threats, we will do the same. If they undermine our nation's security, we will undoubtedly respond in kind,” he added.

Trump's harsh sanctions directive was followed by a statement from President Trump on his social media platform Truth Social saying any reports of a devastating US-Israeli attack on Iran were "greatly exaggerated".

This sparked debate within Iran's political establishment and prompted some to urge President Masoud Pezeshkian to engage in talks to avoid further economic sanctions.

Khamenei's latest statement comes in direct contrast to those calls, offering a vague warning of retaliation against the US without clarifying whether he was referring to military action or other forms of pressure.

Iran's leader also rejected the notion that talks could ease Iran's economic hardships.

“Negotiations with the United States have no impact on solving the country's problems. We must understand this correctly and not be misled into thinking that sitting at the negotiation table with that government will resolve certain issues. No, negotiations with the United States will not solve any problems,” Khamenei said.

Iran’s economy has deteriorated significantly since 2018, when Trump imposed new oil export and banking sanctions, a decline compounded by decades of mismanagement, corruption, and prioritizing funding for terrorism over domestic welfare.

The national currency has lost 95% of its value, plummeting 22-fold, while inflation has remained around 40% for the past five years. Some official estimates indicate that more than a third of the population now lives below the poverty line.

“An Iran that has nuclear weapons is unacceptable and a danger not only to our closest ally, Israel, but also to the whole world,” Representative Mike Lawler, a sponsor of the legislation, said in a statement.

“We must keep all options on the table when it comes to dealing with this unprecedented situation," the New York Republican added.

President Donald Trump on Tuesday reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran from his first term but said he hoped not to implement the measures, saying he preferred a deal.

The next day, Trump said reports of US-Israeli collaboration on a devastating military attack on Iran were "greatly exaggerated".

Iran denies seeking nuclear weapons but US ally Israel says its Mideast mortal enemy is developing a bomb, which it views as an existential threat.

“If the Iranian Ayatollah and his henchman obtain a nuclear weapon, it would be one of the most destabilizing and dangerous events in world history," South Carolina Republican Senator Lindsey Graham said in the statement.

"This is not an authorization for the use of military force, but a resolution establishing the truth regarding Iran’s nuclear intentions and capability.”

The statement did not elaborate on the options cited and stops short of explicitly proposing military action.

In a post on X, Azizi's lawyer Amir Raisian said they will submit another retrial request and appeal to the judiciary chief in a final effort to halt the sentence.

Azizi was arrested in August 2023 and sentenced to death for “armed rebellion against the state”, or baghi, following a trial before a Revolutionary Court in Tehran in July last year.

Rights groups say her conviction is politically motivated and linked to her humanitarian work, including assisting women and children displaced by Islamic State attacks in northeast Syria.

Reacting to the Supreme Court’s decision, Amnesty International’s deputy director for the Middle East and North Africa, Diana Eltahawy, urged the international community to act immediately to stop her execution.

“The Iranian authorities must halt the execution of arbitrarily detained humanitarian aid worker Pakhshan Azizi, who was sentenced to death following a grossly unfair trial,” Eltahawy said.

She added that the case highlights how Iran uses the death penalty as a tool of political repression and highlighted allegations that Azizi was tortured and subjected to gender-based violence in detention.

“The death penalty is abhorrent in all circumstances, but imposing it after a grossly unfair trial … shows the Iranian authorities’ shameless disregard for the right to life,” she said.

Amnesty International has called on governments worldwide to speak out urgently to stop Azizi’s execution.

Hamid Aboutalebi, a political adviser to Iran’s former President Hassan Rouhani urged President Masoud Pezeshkian and Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi to seize the opportunity for comprehensive negotiations with the Trump administration.

Amid the usual rhetoric and slogans repeated by various Iranian politicians following Trump's remarks, Aboutalebi’s comments stood out as more novel and pragmatic.

Referring to Trump's mooted openness to talks with his political counterpart, Aboutalebi suggested in a post on X that the Iranian president should call Trump to ease tensions between Tehran and Washington.

Trump offered to speak his Iranian counterpart after issuing a memorandum this week ramping up sanctions under a “maximum pressure” policy against Tehran.

Iran's president on Wednesday played down the memorandum aimed at reducing Tehran's oil exports to zero but offered no reaction after Trump said he was willing to speak with his Iranian counterpart.

Aboutalebi warned Araghchi that potentially renewed United Nations sanctions could devastate an already struggling economy and accused the foreign minister of sapping the government's will for talks with intransigent statements.

"Despite claims to the contrary, Pezeshkian's lack of urgency suggests he has sidelined foreign policy and the issue of lifting sanctions," he wrote.

"At the same time, your opposition to negotiations, your warnings to officials who support diplomacy, and your dismissive attitude toward President Trump have only contributed to Pezeshkian's indifference."

Araghchi’s recent public comments have been interpreted by some media outlets in Tehran as unhelpful and dismissive toward opening talks with President Trump.

Aboutalebi was appointed as Iran's ambassador to the UN delegation in New York in 2013, but the United States denied him a visa, citing his alleged involvement in the 1979 takeover of the US Embassy in Tehran.

Despite his alleged role in the embassy seizure, Aboutalebi later emerged as a moderate politician by the theocracy's standards and served as the political deputy to Rouhani's chief of staff.

Aboutalebi praised the approach taken by Mexican and Canadian officials in responding to Trump's executive order on tariffs, noting that "while Trump took a hardline approach by issuing executive orders against America's allies in Canada and Mexico, he opted for a much softer measure with Iran by issuing an executive memorandum."

He suggested Iran could adopt a similar strategy to ease tensions with the United States, which may worsen once the US government steps up sanctions.

Sadegh Zibakalam, a public intellectual and vocal critic of Tehran hardliners, published an essay asking what Iran has gained with 46 years of confrontation with the United States.

“No one is suggesting, nor does anyone even consider, that we should become subservient to the United States, blindly accepting whatever they dictate and becoming dependent on them," Zibakalam argued.

"This is a completely incorrect interpretation. Rather, the goal is to ease tensions and conflicts and move toward an environment of engagement.”

Still, government officials appeared in no rush to bless the idea of talks.

Vice President Mohammad Aref said Wednesday, "Talks between Pezeshkian and Trump are not on the agenda of the Islamic Republic."

Meanwhile, government spokesperson Fatemeh Mohajerani offered little more than a reiteration of the Islamic Republic’s foreign policy principles: dignity, wisdom, and prudence—whatever those may entail.

The coordinated actions by the Treasury Department and the State Department span multiple countries, including China, India and the United Arab Emirates and involve several vessels linked to Iran's exports.

Trump's directive on Tuesday aims to drive oil sales by its top Middle East adversary down to zero.

“The Iranian regime remains focused on leveraging its oil revenues to fund the development of its nuclear program, to produce its deadly ballistic missiles and unmanned aerial vehicles, and to support its regional terrorist proxy groups,” Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent said in a statement.

“The United States is committed to aggressively targeting any attempt by Iran to secure funding for these malign activities,” he added.

China is by far the biggest buyer of Iranian oil and Trump has repeatedly lambasted his predecessor Joe Biden for allowing sales to creep back up.

Iran's economy is teetering under the pressure of US-led sanctions, which Washington hopes will cut off funding to Tehran's armed allies in the Middle East.

The State Department also released a statement announcing sanctions on companies it says funnel oil revenue to Iran’s military.

“I applaud President Trump’s return to maximum pressure on the Iranian regime and willingness to confront both Iran and (China),” said Senator James Risch, the top Republican on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee.

“After years of Biden refusing to enforce oil sanctions on Iran, I enacted the SHIP Act to force sanctions on Chinese purchases of Iranian oil,” he added, referring to the 2024 Stop Harboring Iranian Petroleum (SHIP) law.

The treasury's move focuses on state firm Sepehr Energy, previously designated by the Office of Foreign Assets Control in late 2023 for its alleged ties to Iran’s Ministry of Defense and Armed Forces Logistics.

"Sepehr Energy and its affiliate companies ... use deceitful evasion methods such as falsification of maritime documents to obfuscate the Iranian origin of the oil that it trades and transports to overseas buyers, including (China)." the Treasury said in its press release.

The new sanctions aim to disrupt Iran’s use of foreign-based brokers and front companies to bypass restrictions and sustain its oil exports, the treasury said.