Iran Says Returning To Diplomacy With The U.S. ‘Isn’t Impossible.’ Trump Says He’s Not Interested.

Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said a return to diplomacy with the U.S. "isn't impossible" even though it requires steps from Washington. But President Donald Trump said he's not interested.

"Putting diplomacy back on track isn't impossible. It hinges on U.S. understanding of one simple fact: pressure doesn't work. The U.S. should build trust, speak respectfully, acknowledge our rights, and uphold commitments," Araghchi said in a social media publication on Friday, in which he also lauded "creative discussions with H.E. the PM/FM of Qatar."

The Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps said Tehran and Muscat have reached an agreement on the matter, including fees charged for transit. However, the force said, the deal can't move forward unless the U.S. accepts the conditions.

In the same line, the secretary of Iran's Supreme National Security Council, Mohsen Rezaei, said any deal to reopen the Strait of Hormuz should include end to wars in Lebanon, Gaza and Syria. He added that the U.S. must "prove its seriousness" before "any trust could be established."

However, Trump had told press hours earlier that the U.S. doesn't "want to speak with them." "We're not looking to meet or anything," he added in the Oval Office.

The U.S. has chosen to double down on economic pressure against Tehran to achieve its goals. Earlier this week Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent unveiled a plan to impose secondary sanctions on those "enabling" Iran to maintain its economic activity.

Bessent said the plan is called "Operation Economic Outcast" and appeared to say China could be reached by the measures.

"We want to make clear here today that no one is above the reach of U.S. sanctions," he said when asked if the measures could impact Chinese banks or the Trump administration would refrain from doing so to preserve relations with Beijing.

"If they facilitate transactions and are part of the ecosystem that turns Iranian oil into money, into repression, they will be targeted," he added. Chinese President Xi Jinping is set to meet with President Donald Trump in September.

Iranian parliament speaker Mohammad Bagher Qalibaf appeared to acknowledge the impact of economic pressure last week, saying military might alone is not enough to move the country forward.

"No matter how much military power we have, if people are hungry and we don't have financial circulation, economic growth and domestic production, we will not endure," Qalibaf said in a meeting with Iranian and Iraqi business leaders at the Iranian embassy in Baghdad.