Cartoon by Mana Neyestani

US vows to keep up Iran pressure if no will shown for deal

Iran International: The Trump administration's "maximum pressure" policy on Iran will remain in place unless the Islamic Republic reaches a deal with the United States, the State Department told Iran International on Friday.

"President Trump has been clear that the United States is committed to preventing Iran from acquiring a nuclear weapon and expressed his willingness to discuss a deal with Iran," a State Department spokesperson told Iran International.

"If the Iranian regime does not want a deal, the President is clear, Iran will remain under the restored maximum pressure campaign," the spokesperson added.

The comments were made in reaction to Friday remarks made by Iran's Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei who firmly rejected the idea of negotiations with the United States, appearing to pour cold water on optimism by Trump and his own government for a nuclear deal.

Trump on Tuesday reinstated the so-called maximum pressure policy on Iran from his first term but said he preferred a deal. Relative moderate President Masoud Pezeshkian has publicly expressed openness to US talks.

“Negotiating with such a government should not be done; it is neither wise, intelligent nor honorable,” the the 85-year-old veteran theocrat who has the ultimate say over Iranian policy told a group of air force personnel in Tehran.

Khamenei accused Washington of perfidy over the last international nuclear deal in 2015, from which Trump withdrew the United States in 2018.

The comments were his strongest since Trump returned to office and come after the hawkish US president appeared to offer Tehran an olive branch this week, saying, "I really want to see peace ... (but) they cannot have a nuclear weapon".