The Meaninglessness of Negotiations Under Pressure and Threat

TEHRAN (Defapress) - Only a few months after entering the White House as the new president of the United States, Donald Trump placed the policy of "maximum pressure" against the Islamic Republic of Iran on his agenda. Trump, similar to his first term as president, has proposed similar offers for negotiations with Iran, which the Islamic Republic of Iran, as during his first presidency, has rejected due to excessive demands and overt hostility toward our nation.

To better understand the predictable rejection of the colonial and oppressive demands of the United States by the Islamic Republic of Iran, we must first examine the meaning and concept of negotiations, particularly fair and honest negotiations. As the name suggests, negotiations between 2 parties or 2 countries have specific principles and rules, among which transparency, honesty, mutual respect, and preserving the dignity of the other party are fundamental. Based on this, regarding negotiations between Iran and the United States, it is necessary to emphasize that under conditions of pressure and threat, negotiations are essentially meaningless.

In reality, the reason for this is that genuine and dignified negotiations between Iran and the United States require an atmosphere based on mutual trust, respect, and equality. This is something that has never been observed in the history of American diplomacy as a colonial power, as the statesmen of this country have never adhered to the 2 crucial principles of transparency and honesty in their negotiations with other nations.

Accordingly, Donald Trump, the U.S. president, has called for negotiations with Iran while simultaneously implementing a policy of maximum pressure against our country and imposing new sanctions on Iran. During Trump's new term, the United States has directly targeted Iran's oil industry and its exports, attempting to prevent Iran from exporting and selling oil to other nations.

Of course, the United States has a dark history in its relations with Iran, and if we look at the record of various U.S. administrations' actions against our country from the beginning of the Islamic Revolution in Iran till today, we encounter a multitude of political, economic, and military reasons, with the U.S. withdrawal from the JCPOA during Donald Trump's first presidency being one of the most recent.

In his second term as president, which, given his age, will likely be his last, Trump has simultaneously proposed negotiations with Iran while threatening that if Tehran does not come to the negotiating table, Iran will face the harshest economic sanctions. He has even gone further, threatening Iran with military attacks and the bombing of nuclear facilities.

A few days ago, Trump, claiming to have sent a letter to Imam Khamenei, the Supreme Leader of the Islamic Republic of Iran, initiated a new game against our country, aiming not only to push the ball of negotiations into Iran's court but also to isolate Iran in global public opinion. Moreover, Trump seeks to portray Iran as opposed to diplomacy and peaceful solutions.

However, the important point here is that Donald Trump, whether intentionally or not, has failed in his new attempt to blame Iran for the lack of agreement with the United States through this imaginary and baseless letter-writing. He has also failed to portray Iran as anti-peace and warmongering, as the contradictory statements about this letter, which, according to some White House officials, has not even been sent to Iran, confirm the propagandistic and unreal nature of this imaginary letter.

On the other hand, the United States, in its new sanctions against Iran, has targeted more than 30 ships and individuals, including the head of the National Iranian Oil Company. Seyyed Abbas Araghchi, Iran's Deputy Foreign Minister, stated in a joint press conference with Sergey Lavrov, his Russian counterpart who had traveled to Tehran: "As long as this policy of maximum pressure continues, there will be no possibility of direct negotiations between us and the United States on the nuclear issue."

Finally, since entering the White House, Donald Trump has repeatedly expressed his desire for an agreement with the Islamic Republic of Iran. However, his words, in contrast to the policy of "maximum pressure," reveal the hypocrisy and duplicity of the U.S. president in dealing with Iran. As long as the officials and leaders of this country continue their hostile and adversarial policies toward Iran, naturally, no negotiations or agreements are possible, and such a prospect remains far-fetched and implausible.