Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi on Tuesday said there was no possibility of direct talks with the US on his country's nuclear program, a day after Washington announced fresh sanctions on Iran's oil industry.

The sanctions come as US President Donald Trump reinstates the "maximum pressure" policy toward Tehran that he upheld during his first term.

Visit from Russia's Lavrov

"There will be no possibility of direct talks between us and the United States on the nuclear issue as long as the maximum pressure is applied in this way," Araghchi said during a press conference with his Russian counterpart Sergey Lavrov, who has been visiting Tehran.

"Regarding the nuclear negotiations, the position of the Islamic Republic of Iran is very clear. We will not negotiate under pressure, threat or sanctions," he said.

"On the nuclear issue, we will move forward with the cooperation and coordination of our friends in Russia and China," he added. 

Lavrov said he was sure diplomatic measures were still an option when it came to resolving issues connected with Iran's nuclear program.

In 2021, when Trump was first in office, Washington pulled out of a 2015 landmark deal with Tehran under which Iran agreed to curb its nuclear program in exchange for the lifting of some of the sanctions imposed on it amid fears it was developing nuclear weapons. The withdrawal led to the collapse of the agreement, which had been reached only after long and laborsome negotiations.

On Monday, Iran held fresh talks with Germany, France and Britain about its nuclear program after resuming its engagement with the three countries — all of which were party to the 2015 deal — late last year. 

Growing cooperation between Moscow and Tehran

Moscow and Tehran have stepped up their cooperation in recent years, with Ukraine and Western partners accusing Tehran of sending weapons to Russia for use in its full-scale invasion of Ukraine — allegations Iran has denied.

In January, Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian signed a strategic partnership deal with his Russian counterpart Vladimir Putin in Moscow that bolstered their economic and military cooperation. 

Russia is also facing Western sanctions for its actions in Ukraine.

The Russian Foreign Ministry said talks between Araghchi and Lavrov also covered  "Russian-Iranian relations" as well as "a number of current international issues," including the latest developments in Syria and Yemen.

Both Iran and Russia suffered a major setback in Syria in December when their longtime ally Bashar Assad was toppled by Islamist rebels, despite heavy investments by Tehran and Moscow to maintain him in power amid a long-running civil war.  

Edited by: Wesley Rahn