No Deal Plausible So Long As US Pressure Continues

US President Donald Trump will not achieve any success in reaching an agreement with Iran so long as its continues its policy of maximum pressure against Tehran, a senior government official said.
“In case the [US] hostile policy against the Iranian nation persists, we are ready to continue maximum resistance for as long as needed,” Government Spokesman Ali Rabiei told IRNA on Tuesday. 
Rabiei made the statement in response to Trump’s claim on Sunday that he will have a deal with Iran within a month after his possible victory in the November presidential elections.
Tehran and Washington were parties to the 2015 nuclear deal along with five other world powers, but Trump pulled the US out unilaterally in 2018 and restored tough sanctions on Iran. 
His so-called “maximum pressure” campaign was aimed at forcing Iranian leaders to renegotiate a new deal that could include all areas of western concern. 
Iran has refused to engage in any direct talks with the US under pressure, saying negotiations were only possible after the removal of all sanctions and within the framework of the JCPOA Joint Commission.
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action is the formal name of the nuclear deal. 
“When we win, we will have a deal within four weeks,” several media outlets cited Trump as saying during a fundraiser campaign in the state of New Jersey on Sunday.
Rabiei said Iran would welcome any reconciliatory effort by Trump if it is seriously aimed at making up for past mistakes, but the recent claim does not seem to have any other purpose other than securing his reelection. 
“Trump had time for four years to exercise a successful diplomacy in dealing with Iran by choosing a correct, agreeable and legal path, but not only he didn’t do this, he also committed America’s worst errors over the past decades,” he said. 

Destructive, Lawless Effort  

The US president’s comment follows Washington’s intense lobbying at the United Nations to extend an arms embargo against Iran. 
The arms ban is set to expire in October based on UN Security Council Resolution 2231 that endorsed the nuclear deal. 
The US-drafted resolution on an indefinite extension of restrictions is up for a vote at the UNSC amid speculations that it would be roundly rejected. 
“The US, as declared by its leaders, has exited JCPOA and until its complete return and fulfillment of all commitments, it has no say regarding the agreement’s text or the UNSC resolution that enshrined it,” Rabiei said. 
He described it as a “destructive, lawless and malicious” effort that is doomed. 
“Any resolution violating UNSCR 2231 is unacceptable and a mockery of international regulations.” 
Russia and China have long signaled opposition to the US measure.
A Chinese diplomat at the UN, speaking on condition of anonymity, said “extending the arms embargo against Iran in whatever form lacks legal basis and will undermine efforts to preserve” the nuclear deal, adding that there is “no chance” the US text will be adopted, according to Reuters. 
European allies of the US, which are also concerned about the expiration of the arms trade ban, wished to put forward a resolution that would satisfy both the US as well as China and Russia. 
However, a last-minute attempt by Britain, France and Germany to broker a compromise with Russia and China appears to be unsuccessful, diplomats said.
Washington has threatened to use a provision in the agreement to trigger a return of all UN sanctions on Iran, if the Security Council does not extend the arms embargo indefinitely.
It argues it can use the so-called snapback mechanism because UNSCR 2231 still names it as a participant.
Richard Gowan, a director at the UN, said there was “zero chance” the US resolution would be adopted and that it was “a ploy to get to snapback”.
“Everyone at the UN understands that this resolution is just the curtain-raiser for a much bigger fight over the Iranian nuclear deal,” said Gowan.
Rabiei said, “Iran is ready to prove that it would make no compromise in giving an appropriate and firm response to any provocative and illegal measure.”