How prepared is Iran to engage with the Trump administration?
Iran's upper echelons appear to be slowly bridging their gaps over potential dialogue with the new US administration, as the threat of the crippling "maximum pressure" policy looms large.
TEHRAN — Iran's Foreign Ministry spokesperson, Ismail Baghaei, expressed hope that Donald Trump's incoming administration would adopt a "realistic" approach to foreign policy, as he addressed a press briefing in Tehran on Monday just hours before the US president's inauguration.
Baghaei also criticized the Biden administration for "failing" to resurrect the 2015 Iran nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action. In 2018, Trump scrapped the accord, reimposing onerous sanctions on the Islamic Republic as part of his "maximum pressure" campaign that was designed to squeeze the Iranian economy.
Since Trump's reelection in November 2024, speculation has been rife in Iran that he will reinstate the same policy with even greater vigor, following a period of easing under former President Joe Biden, during which Iran faced fewer constraints on the sale of its vital oil resources.
Those worries have sparked debates in Tehran on whether to seek diplomatic initiatives with the US administration to prevent further blows to Iran's battered economy.
