Iranian Foreign Minister Seyed Abbas Araghchi said restoring diplomacy with the US is “not impossible”, but would depend on Washington accepting that “pressure doesn't work.”
Araghchi made the remarks in a post on X on Friday after talks with Qatar's Prime Minister and Foreign Minister Sheikh Mohammed bin Abdulrahman Al Thani.
"Putting diplomacy back on track isn't impossible. It hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn't work," Araghchi wrote, describing his talks with the Qatari leader as "creative discussions."
He said Washington should instead build trust, speak respectfully, acknowledge Iran's rights, and uphold its commitments.
The remarks came a day after Sheikh Mohammed, who is also Qatar's foreign minister, held a series of meetings in Tehran with senior Iranian officials, including President Masoud Pezeshkian and Supreme National Security Council Secretary Mohsen Rezaei, as Doha pushed to revive stalled diplomacy between Iran and the US.
It marked the first high-level Qatari visit to Tehran since the war began on February 28.
Talks between Araghchi and Sheikh Mohammed reportedly centred on a proposed phased framework for the Strait of Hormuz, including a temporary joint Iranian-Omani shipping corridor and a joint demining project for the waterway, according to Qatar's foreign ministry.
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A memorandum of understanding reached between Washington and Tehran in June to end the conflict had broken down partly over disagreements involving the strait, through which roughly one-fifth of global oil supplies passed before the war.
Pezeshkian told the Qatari delegation that Iran and Qatar remained "two countries of friends and brothers" despite recent "bitter events," and said Tehran was not seeking war or an expansion of the conflict, while insisting Iran would not "submit to bullying." Rezaei was more combative, warning that Iran would inflict damage that would "go down in history" if the US moved against Tehran's interests.
Sheikh Mohammed, for his part, stressed that diplomacy remained the only path to peace and called for continued dialogue.
Washington has said no negotiations are currently underway with Iran. The visit comes as the conflict approaches its sixth month, with fighting largely paused but no diplomatic breakthrough yet in sight.
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