Evading sanctions bolsters Iran’s negotiating power: FM

Iranian Foreign Minister has stressed that Iranian bypassing the sanctions by Iranian businesses would strengthen the country’s negotiators and dishearten those enforcing those pressures.

News ID: ۲۰۰۱۳۲۲

23 May 2025

EghtesadOnline: Speaking at a conference on provincial economic diplomacy attended by Iranian business in Shiraz, southern Iran, Abbas Araghchi said on Thursday that diplomacy has two fundamental principles: good neighborliness and economic diplomacy. He said that Iran has long adhered to the former, while the latter involves the Ministry of Foreign Affairs facilitating commercial opportunities rather than engaging in trade directly.

Araqchi reaffirmed the Foreign Ministry’s role in lifting sanctions, saying that Iranian diplomats and ambassadors stationed abroad should actively assist businesses in finding alternative, non-sanctioned trade channels. He stressed that these efforts are crucial in neutralizing the impact of economic restrictions.

The U.S. once claimed it would cripple Iran’s economy, Araqchi said. “Today, they admit that there are no sanctions left to impose, yet they have failed to cripple the Iranian people.”