NEW YORK (Dispatches) -- Iran’s top diplomats have said they will not enter into negotiations until the U.S. stops its campaign of "maximum pressure” on Tehran.
Deputy Foreign Minister Abbas Araqhi told The Independent that "maximum pressure” from the United States has produced "maximum resistance” from Iran, and that Tehran will continue to resist.
Speaking at the Iranian mission to the UN in New York, he said "to get real negotiations started, this economic war has to end,” in reference to U.S. sanctions.
"And to end this economic war, we first need a ceasefire in order to do real negotiations and find sustainable solutions,” Araqchi added.
"Not only us, but no country will negotiate under pressure,” he added.
Asked what Tehran would do if the maximum pressure from Washington turned into military pressure, Araqchi said: "Then we will resist militarily.”
The Independent said Tehran has passed on messages to the White House that they are not interested in starting a war but if they are attack, the response will not be limited.
Messages are sent through Swiss diplomats, who have been intermediaries between Tehran and Washington since the two broke ties after the 1979 revolution.
U.S. President Donald Trump has long pursued a meeting with Iranian officials in the same style as his famous meetings with the North Korean leader, leading to speculation over whether the UN General Assembly meeting would have provided a forum for the two sides to meet.
Tehran has rejected participating in a bilateral meeting without any "substance”.
Araqchi suggested, however, that Iranian President Hassan Rouhani would be willing to meet with Trump in a multilateral setting if the U.S. returned to the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) nuclear deal.
"If Trump returns to the JCPOA, we will again negotiate with the United States in the format of a P5+1 meeting,” he said.
Tensions have been high since President Trump pulled out of the Iran nuclear deal last year and gradually re-imposed sanctions on all major industries in Iran, including oil and petrochemicals exports which are a major source of income for the oil-rich state.
Iran has stayed in the deal with the other signatories, but has started to gradually reduce compliance in the past few months.
French President Emmanuel Macron has started mediation efforts between Iran and the U.S., in the hope of reducing tensions and convincing Iran to stay in the nuclear deal.
Araqchi, who was one of the top negotiators of the Iran nuclear deal, explained: "Mr Macron and Rouhani’s plan is to have a ceasefire to be able to conduct real extensive negotiations and find a long term solution.”
He added: "This is the path and the roadmap that we believe will work.”
"Otherwise without a ceasefire and under pressure, no country will negotiate and neither will we.”
The cornerstone of the Macron plan is to open a $15 billion line of credit for Iran as a way to let it pre-sell its oil for the next few months, in exchange for Tehran’s full compliance with the terms of the nuclear deal.
"If we get to sell our oil, we will return to full compliance of the deal,” said Araqchi. "But meeting with Trump is a different discussion,” he added.
Asked whether Tehran is ready to stay in this resistance mode for the next two to six years, considering Trump may very well win re-election, Araqchi said: "We will continue ultimate resistance in the face of maximum pressure. If they put maximum pressure aside, the path to negotiation will open.”