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Iran Rejects Nuclear Talks With US as Trump Admin Ramps Up ‘Maximum Pressure’ Campaign
Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov shakes hands with Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi during a meeting in Tehran, Iran, Feb. 25, 2025. Photo: Russian Foreign Ministry/Handout via REUTERS
Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday rejected the possibility of nuclear talks with the United States, which imposed new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry as part of the Trump administration’s so-called “maximum pressure” campaign against Tehran.
“There will be no possibility of direct talks between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as the maximum pressure is applied in this way,” Araghchi said during a joint press conference with his visiting Russian counterpart, Sergei Lavrov.
“We will not negotiate under pressure, threat, or sanctions,” he added.
The top Iranian official’s remarks came a day after the US Treasury Department announced new sanctions on Iran’s oil industry, targeting over 30 brokers, tanker operators, and shipping companies involved in transporting and selling Iranian petroleum.
The new oil sanctions were the latest to be imposed since US President Donald Trump reinstated his “maximum pressure” policy toward Tehran, aiming to cut the country’s crude exports to zero and prevent it from obtaining a nuclear weapon.
Earlier this month, however, Trump also expressed a willingness to talk to Iran’s leaders, stating his desire to reach a “nuclear peace agreement” to improve bilateral relations with Tehran while insisting that the Iranian regime must not develop a nuclear weapon.
Iran’s so-called “supreme leader,” Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, rejected the idea of negotiating with Washington, calling such a move “unwise” and “dishonorable.”
Tuesday’s high-level meeting between Russian and Iranian officials took place in Tehran to discuss bilateral relations, regional developments, and the 2015 nuclear deal with major world powers that placed temporary restrictions on Iran’s nuclear program in exchange for sanctions relief.
“On the nuclear issue, we will move forward with the cooperation and coordination of our friends in Russia and China,” Araghchi said during the press conference.
Russia’s Foreign Ministry said in a statement that the views of both Russian and Iranian officials were in alignment regarding Iran’s nuclear program.
“Positions were aligned on the situation around the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action [the official name for the 2015 nuclear deal] on the Iranian nuclear program,” it said.
Iran has claimed that its nuclear program is for civilian purposes rather than building weapons. However, the UN’s nuclear watchdog, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), reported last year that Iran had greatly accelerated uranium enrichment to up to 60 percent purity, close to the roughly 90 percent weapons-grade level.
At the time, the UK, France, and Germany said in a statement that there is no “credible civilian justification” for Tehran’s recent nuclear activity, arguing it “gives Iran the capability to rapidly produce sufficient fissile material for multiple nuclear weapons.”
As Russia also faces increasing sanctions from the West over its war in Ukraine, Moscow and Tehran have deepened their cooperation. Ukraine and its allies have accused Iran of supplying weapons to Russia, allegations Tehran has denied.
Last month, Russian President Vladimir Putin and his Iranian counterpart Masoud Pezeshkian signed a 20-year “comprehensive strategic partnership treaty” reinforcing their economic and military cooperation.
The bilateral cooperation between Tehran and Moscow comes at a time when Iran’s influence in the Middle East is waning, with the fall of long-time Iranian ally Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad in Syria and Israel’s military successes against two of Iran’s terrorist proxies: Hamas in Gaza and Hezbollah in Lebanon.
After the collapse of Assad’s regime, which was driven by an offensive led by the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, a former al-Qaeda affiliate, both Russia and Iran suffered a major setback in Syria despite years of investment in supporting their longtime ally during the civil war.
“Iran wants peace, stability, preservation of territorial integrity and unity, and the progress of Syria based on the will of the people,” Araghchi said on Tuesday, referring to Damascus’s new government.
During the press conference, Lavrov also referred to Syria’s new regime, saying, “We will do our utmost to ensure that the situation calms down and does not pose a threat either to the Syrian people … or to the people of neighboring states.”
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Israel to Send Delegation to Qatar for Gaza Ceasefire Talks
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu speaks during a news conference in Jerusalem, Sept. 2, 2024. Photo: Ohad Zwigenberg/Pool via REUTERS
Israel has decided to send a delegation to Qatar for talks on a possible Gaza hostage and ceasefire deal, an Israeli official said, reviving hopes of a breakthrough in negotiations to end the almost 21-month war.
Palestinian group Hamas said on Friday it had responded to a US-backed Gaza ceasefire proposal in a “positive spirit,” a few days after US President Donald Trump said Israel had agreed “to the necessary conditions to finalize” a 60-day truce.
The Israeli negotiation delegation will fly to Qatar on Sunday, the Israeli official, who declined to be named due to the sensitivity of the matter, told Reuters.
But in a sign of the potential challenges still facing the two sides, a Palestinian official from a militant group allied with Hamas said concerns remained over humanitarian aid, passage through the Rafah crossing in southern Israel to Egypt and clarity over a timetable for Israeli troop withdrawals.
Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who is due to meet Trump in Washington on Monday, has yet to comment on Trump’s announcement, and in their public statements Hamas and Israel remain far apart.
Netanyahu has repeatedly said Hamas must be disarmed, a position the terrorist group, which is thought to be holding 20 living hostages, has so far refused to discuss.
Israeli media said on Friday that Israel had received and was reviewing Hamas’ response to the ceasefire proposal.
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Tucker Carlson Says to Air Interview with President of Iran
Tucker Carlson speaks on July 18, 2024 during the final day of the Republican National Convention at the Fiserv Forum in Milwaukee, Wisconsin. Photo: Jasper Colt-USA TODAY via Reuters Connect
US conservative talk show host Tucker Carlson said in an online post on Saturday that he had conducted an interview with Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian, which would air in the next day or two.
Carlson said the interview was conducted remotely through a translator, and would be published as soon as it was edited, which “should be in a day or two.”
Carlson said he had stuck to simple questions in the interview, such as, “What is your goal? Do you seek war with the United States? Do you seek war with Israel?”
“There are all kinds of questions that I didn’t ask the president of Iran, particularly questions to which I knew I could get an not get an honest answer, such as, ‘was your nuclear program totally disabled by the bombing campaign by the US government a week and a half ago?’” he said.
Carlson also said he had made a third request in the past several months to interview Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, who will be visiting Washington next week for talks with US President Donald Trump.
Trump said on Friday he would discuss Iran with Netanyahu at the White House on Monday.
Trump said he believed Tehran’s nuclear program had been set back permanently by recent US strikes that followed Israel’s attacks on the country last month, although Iran could restart it at a different location.
Trump also said Iran had not agreed to inspections of its nuclear program or to give up enriching uranium. He said he would not allow Tehran to resume its nuclear program, adding that Iran did want to meet with him.
Pezeshkian said last month Iran does not intend to develop nuclear weapons but will pursue its right to nuclear energy and research.
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Hostage Families Reject Partial Gaza Seal, Demand Release of All Hostages
Demonstrators hold signs and pictures of hostages, as relatives and supporters of Israeli hostages kidnapped during the Oct. 7, 2023 attack by Hamas protest demanding the release of all hostages in Tel Aviv, Israel, Feb. 13, 2025. Photo: REUTERS/Itai Ron
i24 News – As Israeli leaders weigh the contours of a possible partial ceasefire deal with Hamas, the families of the 50 hostages still held in Gaza issued an impassioned public statement this weekend, condemning any agreement that would return only some of the abductees.
In a powerful message released Saturday, the Families Forum for the Return of Hostages denounced what they call the “beating system” and “cruel selection process,” which, they say, has left families trapped in unbearable uncertainty for 638 days—not knowing whether to hope for reunion or prepare for mourning.
The group warned that a phased or selective deal—rumored to be under discussion—would deepen their suffering and perpetuate injustice. Among the 50 hostages, 22 are believed to be alive, and 28 are presumed dead.
“Every family deserves answers and closure,” the Forum said. “Whether it is a return to embrace or a grave to mourn over—each is sacred.”
They accused the Israeli government of allowing political considerations to prevent a full agreement that could have brought all hostages—living and fallen—home long ago. “It is forbidden to conform to the dictates of Schindler-style lists,” the statement read, invoking a painful historical parallel.
“All of the abductees could have returned for rehabilitation or burial months ago, had the government chosen to act with courage.”
The call for a comprehensive deal comes just as Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu prepares for high-stakes talks in Washington and as indirect negotiations between Israel and Hamas are expected to resume in Doha within the next 24 hours, according to regional media reports.
Hamas, for its part, issued a statement Friday confirming its readiness to begin immediate negotiations on the implementation of a ceasefire and hostage release framework.
The Forum emphasized that every day in captivity poses a mortal risk to the living hostages, and for the deceased, a danger of being lost forever. “The horror of selection does not spare any of us,” the statement said. “Enough with the separation and categories that deepen the pain of the families.”
In a planned public address near Begin Gate in Tel Aviv, families are gathering Saturday evening to demand that the Israeli government accept a full-release deal—what they describe as the only “moral and Zionist” path forward.
“We will return. We will avenge,” the Forum concluded. “This is the time to complete the mission.”
As of now, the Israeli government has not formally responded to Hamas’s latest statement.
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