Iran Calls Trump’s ‘Maximum Pressure’ Policy a ‘Failure’

Iranian Foreign Ministry Abbas Araghchi on Wednesday claimed President Donald Trump’s policy of “maximum pressure” against Iran’s nuclear ambitions was a “failure” during Trump’s first term, and would fare no better during his second.

“The policy of maximum pressure has already proven to be a failure, and any attempt to revive it will only lead to another defeat,” Araghchi said.

The regime in Tehran has alternated for years between arrogant boasts that Trump’s economic and diplomatic pressure were completely ineffective and sobbing hysterically that Trump destroyed the Iranian economy. As recently as May 2024, Iran blamed the death of its President Ebrahim Raisi in a helicopter crash on the crippling power of U.S. sanctions – and that was long after President Joe Biden took over and began showering the regime with cash.

WATCH — Trump Warns Iran: If You Attack Me, Your Country Gets “Blown to Smithereens”:

The Iranians have unquestionably grown adept at evading sanctions, but there was also a stark difference in Iran’s behavior between the tough Trump administration and weak Biden policies. With more money in its pockets, the Iranian regime aggressively sought to destabilize Middle Eastern governments and build up its terrorist proxies – from Hezbollah in Lebanon, to the Shiite militias of Iraq and the Houthi insurgents in Yemen.

Araghchi also responded to Trump’s comment that he would be “very tough” about keeping Iran from obtaining nuclear weapons, advising Trump to use carrots instead of sticks.

“If the main issue is that Iran should not pursue nuclear weapons, this is achievable and not a difficult matter,” the Iranian foreign minister said.

“Iran’s stance is clear, and it is a member of the NPT, and there is also the fatwa of the Leader, which has clarified the matter for us,” he claimed.

Iran’s membership in the Nuclear Non-proliferation Treaty (NPT) has not prevented the regime from developing a huge stockpile of near-weapons-grade uranium – far beyond anything conceivably necessary for peaceful purposes – and refusing to cooperate fully with International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) inspectors.

The IAEA said in December that Iran continues to enrich large amounts of uranium to the 60 percent near-weapons-grade threshold at the Fordow nuclear plant near Tehran.

“They have a nuclear programme that has grown, has spawned in every possible direction,” IAEA Director-General Rafael Grossi said in December.

“The Iran of 2015 has nothing to do with the Iran of 2025,” he said. “Iran is starting production of 60% at a much higher level of production, which means they will have the amounts necessary – if they so choose – to have a nuclear device in a much faster way. So we see an escalation in this regard, which is very worrisome.”

Araghchi’s reference to the “fatwa” against nuclear weapons is the oldest dodge in Iran’s playbook, an absurd claim that the Islamic Republic will never develop nuclear bombs because Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei supposedly issued a religious edict against doing so in 2004. The “fatwa against nuclear weapons” talking point has been so thoroughly debunked over the years that Araghchi must have been feeling some desperation to try it again.

Last weekend, the Iranian resistance accused the regime of secretly developing long-range nuclear missile warheads under the cover of its space program.

“The regime is trying to buy time through negotiating with European countries and even indirectly with the U.S. government — aiming to maintain the current status quo to complete its weapons program,” said Alireza Jafarzadeh, deputy director of the National Council of Resistance of Iran (NCRI).

On Wednesday, President Trump said he wants to negotiate a new nuclear deal with Iran after re-starting his “maximum pressure” campaign. He also denied rumors that the U.S. and Israel are planning to take out Iran’s nuclear weapons program by force.

“I want Iran to be a great and successful Country, but one that cannot have a Nuclear Weapon,” he said, writing on his Truth Social platform.

“Reports that the United States, working in conjunction with Israel, is going to ‘blow Iran into smithereens’ ARE GREATLY EXAGGERATED. I would much prefer a Verified Nuclear Peace Agreement, which will let Iran peacefully grow and prosper,” he said.

“We should start working on it immediately, and have a big Middle East Celebration when it is signed and completed. God Bless the Middle East!” Trump concluded.