Tehran (Brussels Morning Newspaper) – Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian doubted the U.S.’ sincerity in pursuing talks with Tehran while inflicting sanctions a week after President Donald Trump reinstated “maximum pressure” on Iran.
“If the U.S. were sincere about negotiations, why did they sanction us?”
On the 46th anniversary of the 1979 Islamic revolution, Pezeshkian said it was Israel, not Iran, that was causing instability in the Middle East region.
The US imposed new sanctions on Iran in early February 2025. It was part of a broader strategy to increase economic pressure and counter its nuclear ambitions.
What does the imposition of U.S. sanctions on Iran imply?
On February 4, 2025, President Donald Trump signed a National Security Presidential Memorandum (NSPM) that resumed maximum pressure on Iran. The policy is set to deny all avenues through which Iran could eventually obtain a nuclear weapon, negate its asymmetric and conventional weapons build-up, dismantle its regional presence, and shatter its economy by ratcheting up the sanctions.
Also, on February 6-8, the U.S. The Treasury Department sanctioned an international network that facilitates millions of barrels of Iranian crude oil shipments worth hundreds of millions of dollars annually to China. This includes entities in China, India, UAE, and several vessels.
President Donald Trump has made several statements concerning Iran, especially the one relating to his renewed “maximum pressure campaign.” According to him, he will not let Iran build nuclear weapons.
Instead, he reiterates that he aims at preventing the same outcome. On the one hand, Trump says he is willing to sit across the negotiating table with Iran but is optimistic to continue living with a verified nuclear peace agreement. He described how he wants Iran to be prosperous but without nuclear capabilities.
