Iran to Trump: Another Maximum Pressure, New Defeat for Washington

By Staff, Agencies

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi has asserted that another round of deployment of the “maximum pressure” policy on the part of the United States against Iran will only lead to another defeat.

“The policy of maximum pressure has already proven to be a failure, and any attempt to revive it will only lead to another defeat,” the top diplomat told reporters on the sidelines of a cabinet meeting on Wednesday.

Araghchi was referring to the policy that the US adopted during Donald Trump’s former tenure, as part of which Washington quit a 2015 nuclear deal with Iran and world powers, returned the sanctions that the agreement had lifted, and piled up even more illegal and unilateral bans against the Islamic Republic.

Retaliating against the measures, Iran took legitimate nuclear steps that have featured its operationalizing advanced centrifuges among other things.

The country also explored various means to skirt the sanctions and boost its economy by fostering foreign trade and enhancing domestic production, causing Washington to suffer “maximum defeat” in adoption of such policy.

On Tuesday, Trump promoted new “tough” measures aimed at, what Washington has called, “deterring” Iran from obtaining a “nuclear weapon.”

Trump also signed a presidential memorandum, authorizing stricter illegal actions against Iran, while saying, “They can’t have a nuclear weapon, we’d be very tough if they insist on doing that.”

Washington’s adversarial stance comes despite Tehran’s repeated assurances that its nuclear activities remain in full compliance with international regulations, and the International Atomic Energy Agency [IAEA]’s invariable verification of the peaceful nature of the Islamic Republic’s nuclear energy program.

Reacting to Trump’s remarks, Araghchi said, "If the main issue is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter.”

“Iran's stance is clear, and it is a member of the NPT [Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty], and there is also the fatwa [religious decree] of the Leader, which has clarified the matter for us," he added.

The Leader of the Islamic Revolution His Eminence Imam Sayyed Ali Khamenei’s has prohibited pursuance, attainment, and storage of such non-conventional arms through an official decree as per religious and moral grounds.

“The Leader’s fatwa has made Iran’s position crystal clear,” Araghchi concluded.

Also on Wednesday, Mohammad Eslami, head of the Atomic Energy Organization of Iran [AEOI], likewise reacted to Trump’s remarks, saying, "Iran has never had, does not have, and will not have a nuclear weapons program. Iran's approach in this regard is absolutely clear."

He added, "Iran's peaceful nuclear program is being implemented within the framework of Safeguards [Agreement] and the NPT."