Iran's foreign ministry will combat sanctions, top envoy says

Iran’s foreign minister said on Thursday that his ministry aims to soften and counter the effects of UN sanctions reinstated on Iran last month which are expected to deepen economic pain.

“Of course, this does not mean that we will abandon our mission to have the sanctions lifted," Abbas Araghchi told a seminar in the northeastern city of Mashhad on Thursday.

"Rather, alongside that mission, we are pursuing the neutralization and counteraction of sanctions and the fulfillment of the country’s needs — responsibilities that rest with both the government as a whole and the Foreign Ministry.”

The United Nations Security Council reimposed international sanctions on Iran on last month after European powers triggered the “snapback” mechanism under Resolution 2231.

The decision effectively restored all UN sanctions lifted under a 2015 nuclear deal and is expected to deepen Iran’s economic isolation.

“One can only complain about sanctions when all domestic capacities have been fully utilized,” Araghchi added, suggesting that internal failings bear some blame for Iran’s economic doldrums.

Defiant in crisis

President Masoud Pezeshkian on Thursday acknowledged the country’s dire situation, saying: “Japan, South Korea and Turkey have no oil, yet they are better off than Iran. We have oil and gas, and we are hungry.”

Economists have warned that renewed sanctions will likely worsen inflation, accelerate the currency’s decline, and aggravate shortages of essential goods.

Despite growing pressure, Tehran has maintained a defiant tone since the June war with Israel.

On Wednesday, Araghchi said Iran would not return to talks with the United States unless Washington abandons what he called “unreasonable and excessive demands.”

Five rounds of indirect talks, he added, had taken place before US and Israeli strikes on June and that follow-up discussions at the UN General Assembly also collapsed for the same reason.