Iranian Diplomat: US Pressure on Tehran No Longer Effective

Iran’s Ambassador to Turkmenistan, Ali Mojtaba Rouzbahani, has stated that the United States’ ‘maximum pressure’ campaign against Iran, including the economic sanctions imposed on the country, has lost its effectiveness. Rouzbahani asserted that the pressure is no longer capable of forcing Iran to make concessions. ‘The failed maximum pressure policy and unjust economic sanctions are no longer able to compel Iran to make concessions,’ the diplomat wrote in an article obtained by RIA Novosti on Thursday. The US decision in 2018 to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), or the 2015 Iran Nuclear Deal, along with a series of unfulfilled promises by the US, forms the basis of a deep crisis of trust. ‘The root cause of the current crisis and the deadlock faced by the US lies in the historic and unilateral violation of commitments by President Donald Trump, who repeatedly derailed the negotiation process and violated memoranda of understanding and other agreements reached with Iran,’ Rouzbahani explained. He also assessed that all instruments of pressure against Iran have been exhausted, while Iran has proven its ability to defend its territorial integrity and national sovereignty. According to Rouzbahani, the US has entered the end of the era of unilateral dominance and must accept the new geopolitical realities in the region. Rouzbahani further opined that the US has fundamentally failed in its efforts to control the Strait of Hormuz. According to him, Iran’s defence superiority, missile capabilities, and geopolitical position have placed the US military in a ‘deep strategic deadlock’, unable to continue full-scale military operations or withdraw without losing face. ‘Ultimately, to safely overcome this man-made crisis, the US has only one option: to return to the negotiating table and accept a respectful diplomatic dialogue with Iran,’ Rouzbahani stated.