WASHINGTON (Reuters) - US President Donald Trump said his country's sanctions on Iran would soon increase dramatically, while a French envoy to Iran began meetings with Iranian officials to ease tensions between Iran and Washington.
Al-Jazeera correspondent said the French envoy Emmanuel Bonn handed Iranian President Hassan Rowhani a written letter from Macron concerning the nuclear agreement and issues in the region.
The reporter pointed out that Rowhani assured McCron envoy to take Tehran important steps on the nuclear agreement if others committed to it.
Rohani told the envoy of French President Emmanuel Macaron that the door of diplomacy was open and called for the investment of the French initiative.
Joint initiatives
The website of Iran's National Security Council quoted Bonn as saying that Macaron is seeking joint initiatives to stop what the site described as the US economic war against the Iranians.
The Iranian news agency IRNA said that the Secretary of the Supreme National Security Council Ali Shamkhani said at the reception of the French envoy that the implementation of a step-by-step program to Iran to reduce its nuclear commitments is not changeable strategy, adding that this strategy will continue until the achievement of full Iranian rights of the nuclear agreement.
Shamkhani criticized the failure of the European countries to implement their commitments under the nuclear agreement and not to show sufficient will to face what he described as destructive US actions, stressing that Iran has decided categorically that the implementation of its obligations will come in proportion to the commitment of the other party's commitments.
I do not have an American message
According to media reports, the French are trying to persuade the Iranians to abandon their last steps, and are also trying to convince them to sit at the same table with the Americans.
However, the Iranian news agency quoted the French envoy as saying he did not come to Iran for mediation and did not carry any message from America to Tehran.
He said Macaron was seeking common solutions to stop the US economic war on Iran, and he believed the move would ease the growing tension in the region.
The French presidency said earlier that the visit was aimed at easing tension, and that Bonn would propose to Iranian officials actionable.
escalation
In addition to Trump's threat to increase sanctions on Iran, US special envoy to Iran Brian Hawk said his country would step up its sanctions against Tehran. He said in an interview with Al Jazeera that the US administration had imposed sanctions against three Lebanese Hezbollah members as part of its efforts to crack down on what they described as Iran's agents.
Hawk said any new agreement with Iran would not be subject to veto in the future. Trump's administration is seeking a treaty with Tehran that is approved by Congress and supported by the American people and not merely by a US administration.
Under the ongoing US pressure on Iran, the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) board of governors began an emergency meeting in Vienna at the request of Washington to present Iran's violations of the nuclear deal.
During the meeting, Washington accused Tehran of expanding its nuclear program to blackmail the international community, which was rejected by representatives of Russia and China, who stressed the need to maintain the nuclear agreement with Iran.
Washington said in a statement to the council that it was ready for talks with Tehran without preconditions, including the possibility of full normalization of relations.
No negotiations under pressure
But Iran has stressed that there are no negotiations with America under pressure, and that the beginning is to stop Washington's economic war against Tehran, amid French efforts to ease the tension.
Rowhani said Washington's talk about the negotiations was a sham. He said the United States, if it wanted to negotiate, must stop all sanctions and deal with respect and reason.
Washington's retreat from its hostile sanctions and policies will create new conditions that are different and positive.
Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif said negotiations with the United States could not begin under pressure, adding that Britain's seizure of the Iranian oil tanker was under direct American pressure.
Zarif explained that London's seizure of the Iranian oil tanker in Gibraltar was a British move to implement Washington's oil sanctions.
For his part, Rowhani stressed the need for international shipping lines to be safe, pointing out that London has started the first step in striking this principle and bearing its consequences.
The Iranian foreign ministry criticized the current US policy, saying it represents economic terrorism, and that any future negotiations should focus on the need for the implementation of the Europeans' commitments in the nuclear agreement.