Takhteh-Ravanchi: No Message Exchanged with Trump Administration; We Will Wait for Trump's Policy to Become Clear

The political deputy of Iran's foreign minister states that the Islamic Republic has not exchanged any messages with the new U.S. administration and that 'we must wait for the U.S. government's policy to become clear.' Majid Takhteh-Ravanchi, in an interview with the ISNA news agency published on Monday, February 27, says: 'Currently, it is not exactly clear what Trump's policy towards Iran is, and we must wait for this policy to become clear.' He also added: 'The new U.S. government has just come into power, and no messages have been exchanged, so it is too early to talk about communication channels.' Axios reported that Iran proposed negotiations for a new nuclear agreement to Trump. Abbas Araghchi, Iran's foreign minister, stated on January 14 that Tehran would not engage in nuclear negotiations with the U.S. until the Trump administration returns to the JCPOA or announces its policy regarding it. Axios reported last week that Iran, in meetings with its diplomats and European representatives just before Trump's presidential inauguration, proposed negotiations for a new nuclear agreement involving the U.S. Axios, on January 24, quoted 'European diplomats' stating that Iranian representatives had insisted that Europeans present this proposal to the Trump administration and convey Washington's response back to Tehran. The head of the Iranian delegation in these negotiations was Majid Takhteh-Ravanchi, who did not mention this 'proposal' in his recent interview but stated that Iran would wait for the new U.S. government's policy to be announced. The Iranian political deputy foreign minister further noted that he had negotiated with Europeans 'once in New York and twice in Geneva, the last of which was held about two weeks ago,' and announced that there would be another round of negotiations, likely 'about a month from now.' Mr. Takhteh-Ravanchi also emphasized that in his opinion, Trump's 'maximum pressure' policy during his first term regarding Iran 'failed.' Trump adopted a 'maximum pressure' policy against Iran during his first term, which severely impacted Tehran's oil revenue, and it is said that his second administration will likely continue this policy. Officials from the Masoud Pezeshkian administration have repeatedly spoken about the necessity of negotiations with the West and even direct negotiations with the U.S. In this context, Ali Abdolalizadeh, the Iranian president's representative for developing the maritime economy, said on December 31 that the Iranian ruling system has reached the point of 'face-to-face negotiations' with the U.S. and that negotiations with Donald Trump should take place. These references to the need for new negotiations may indicate that the Islamic Republic prefers to clarify the sanctions situation as soon as possible to avoid being caught in new sanctions from the U.S. government. Takhteh-Ravanchi, in his interview regarding the fate of the JCPOA, stated: 'The reality is that in October 2025, or Mehr 1404 according to Security Council Resolution 2231, the JCPOA period ends, and after this date, there will be no JCPOA.' Iran reached the nuclear agreement known as the JCPOA with Western powers, including the United States, in 2015, under which, in exchange for lifting U.S. and European sanctions against Tehran, the Islamic Republic would limit aspects of its nuclear program. However, in 2018, coinciding with Trump's first term, the U.S. exited the JCPOA. In response, Tehran gradually deviated from its JCPOA commitments, including increasing the amount and concentration of uranium enrichment; a subject that ultimately led to the issuance of two critical resolutions by the Board of Governors of the International Atomic Energy Agency last year.