TEHRAN, May 2 (Xinhua) -- The Iranian Foreign Ministry on Friday stressed that while remaining committed to the path of diplomacy, the country would not tolerate the U.S. threat- and pressure-based approaches.
The ministry made the remarks in a statement reacting to a Thursday post on social media platform Truth Social by U.S. President Donald Trump, who said all purchases of Iranian oil or petrochemical products must stop immediately, as well as the fresh U.S. sanctions imposed earlier this week on a number of individuals and entities in Iran and other countries.
"While stressing its commitment to the path of diplomacy and announcing readiness for the continuation of the (Omani-mediated indirect) negotiations (with the United States), the Islamic Republic of Iran will under no circumstances tolerate approaches based on threat and pressure," said the ministry.
Tehran strongly condemned the continuation of the U.S. "illegal" sanctions and pressure on Iran and its trade partners, and considered them another sign indicating that the Iranian nation is entitled to being deeply suspicious about the U.S. seriousness in the path of diplomacy, according to the statement.
The ministry emphasized that during the recent talks with the United States, Iran's negotiators had expounded on the nation's "positions and rightful demands" based on a determined framework as per the country's principled positions under international law in the area of making peaceful use of nuclear energy and ending the "cruel" sanctions, and had made efforts to achieve a "fair, logical and sustainable" agreement.
Iran and the United States held the first and third rounds of their indirect negotiations in Oman's Muscat on April 12 and 26, and the second one in Italy's Rome on April 19. The fourth round was scheduled to take place in Rome on Saturday but was postponed to an unspecified date owing to what Oman described as "logistical reasons." ■
