Iran's ambassadors to France and the UK say they remain open to negotiations with the West, despite new US sanctions targeting Iran's oil exports and the reimposition of Trump-era maximum pressure policies.
“We do not reject negotiations, but we demand engagement on equal footing and with mutual respect,” Mohammad Amin Nejad, the Iranian ambassador to France said in an interview with French online media platform Thinkerview.
While acknowledging the impact of US-led sanctions on Iran's economy, he asserted that the country has become adept at self-reliance.
“After the US withdrawal from the JCPOA, we faced severe economic pressures, but the Iranian people are resilient, and the country continues to progress,” Nejad added.
US President Donald Trump reinstated his maximum pressure policy on Iran this month, issuing a directive followed by the first wave of sanctions on Thursday.
These sanctions came after decades of the Iranian state's mismanagement, corruption, and the prioritization of funneling money to terrorism, which had already severely damaged Iran's economy before the US sanctions compounded the crisis.
In London, Ali Matinfar, the Iranian Embassy's chargé d'affaires, echoed similar sentiments to his colleague in France during a ceremony marking the upcoming 46th anniversary of the Islamic Revolution.
The diplomat insisted that Tehran remains committed to the nuclear deal, despite the US withdrawal in 2018 and what he described as Europe's failure to uphold its obligations.
“The Islamic Republic of Iran has continued to adhere to its commitments and has only taken compensatory measures within the framework of the agreement,” Matinfar said on Saturday.
Referring to recent talks with the UK, France, and Germany in Geneva, Matinfar said there is hope for the potential of renewed diplomatic progress.
“Following serious and constructive negotiations, it is hoped that a clearer outlook for future diplomatic engagements will emerge. However, the realization of this depends entirely on the goodwill and confidence-building measures of the Western parties, particularly the United States,” he said.
Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei, the country's ultimate authority, said on Friday that negotiating with the US would be neither wise, intelligent, nor honorable.
This follows an ongoing internal divide within the country in recent weeks, with varying factions offering conflicting views on the potential for talks with Washington,
During Trump’s first term, Iran’s oil exports were slashed to almost zero after he re-imposed sanctions that had been lifted under the 2015 nuclear deal between Tehran and world powers.
After the US withdrew from the agreement, there were few attempts at negotiations between Washington and Tehran until the Biden administration took office in 2021, signaling a renewed effort to revive the nuclear deal, but ultimately, no new agreement was reached.
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.