Tehran on Wednesday said it rejected to participate in talks with the US “under sanctions threats,” a day after US President Donald Trump expressed willingness to reach a “real nuclear deal” with Iran ahead of a looming deadline to enforce new sanctions.
Foreign Ministry spokesman Bahram Ghasemi was quoted by the Iranian Tasnim news agency as saying that Iran would never take part in one-sided negotiations with the United States under threat.
“America should forget forever the idea of one-sided negotiations under the shadow of a threat,” he said.
On Tuesday, Trump said he was ready to "make a real deal" with Iran just few days after he had warned it of consequences "the likes of which few throughout history have ever suffered," if it threatens the United States.
Observers noticed that President Hassan Rouhani’s tone had somehow softened Wednesday when he said it was not worth responding to "cheap remarks" from Trump, reacting to criticism for using the Revolutionary Guards’ rhetoric.
National Security and Foreign Policy committee chairman Hashmatullah Faisah Bishah launched on Wednesday criticism against Rouhani over his warnings to the US.
Separately, Commander of the Revolutionary Guards Corps (IRGC) Major General Mohammad Ali Jafari said Washington’s threats to cut Iran’s oil export to zero can be easily countered.
Speaking at a ceremony held in Tehran to deliver 10 Sukhoi Su-22 fighter jets overhauled and upgraded by domestic experts at the IRGC Aerospace Force, the commander said, "If the current capabilities of the Revolutionary Guards ... reach the ears of the adventure-seeking president of America, he will never make this kind of mistake and will understand that an oil threat can be easily answered.”
The Revolutionary Guards said it would equip its fighter jets with air-to-ground cruise missiles with pinpoint accuracy and a range of 1,500 km.
