Araghchi: No ’Message Exchange’ with US on Sanctions Removal Talks
Story Code : 1187560
Abbas Araghchi said on Wednesday that any decision to enter into such discussions hinges on confidence-building measures by the Donald Trump administration.
Iran is already engaging with European parties to the JCPOA, the 2015 nuclear deal, and is waiting for Washington to clarify its policy, the minister said.
“No clear message has been sent or received between the two countries; what is being said is only in the media.”
There has been speculation that the Trump administration has exchanged secret messages with Iran.
“Our criterion remains the past distrust that continues to dominate relations between the two countries,” Araghchi said.
“We previously reached an agreement; Iran implemented it, but they were the ones who disrupted it,” Araghchi said, pointing to the 2018 US withdrawal from the JCPOA during Trump's first term in office.
Upon its departure, the US administration reinstated punitive measures that had been suspended under the accord and imposed new bans under its policy of 'maximum pressure.'