Washington's so-called maximum pressure campaign of sanctions and mooting of military force will not force Iran to negotiate about its nuclear program, Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said on Monday.
"Iran’s position is clear and explicit: We will not negotiate under pressure and threats," Araghchi told reporters in Tehran after a meeting with his Sudanese counterpart. "The presidential order for maximum pressure speaks for itself."
The remarks appear to represent a hardening line by Tehran to the suggestion by US President Donald Trump that Iran come to a deal with Washington about its disputed nuclear program or potentially face military strikes.
"Maximum pressure and resolutions have never been effective against Iran … We will not negotiate under threat," Araghchi added.
Trump this month signed a directive reviving his maximum pressure policy on Iran from his first term aimed at driving the Islamic Republic's oil exports to zero. After signing the memorandum, he said he would prefer a deal with Tehran to an Israeli attack on their nuclear sites.
"I would love to make a deal with them without bombing them," he later said on Fox News, drawing ire in Iran.
Iranian Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei appeared to reject the idea of talks with the hawkish Trump administration and senior leaders have fallen in with the position.
The Emir of Qatar Sheikh Tamim bin Hamad Al Thani is due to visit Tehran for a bilateral visit, Araghchi added, saying that there was no indication he carried a message or would be playing any mediating role.
A key go-between in regional conflicts, Qatar maintains good relations with both Tehran and Washington.
Al Thani's visit represents one of the most high-level foreign visits to Iran as it has been locked in over a year of direct and regional combat with Israel.
The Wall Street Journal and The Washington Post reported last week citing US intelligence assessments from January that Israel saw an opening for an attack on Iranian nuclear sites as early as the first of this year with Iran weakened and Trump seen as sympathetic to a strike.
