TEHRAN (AFP) — With sanctions squeezing its economy, Iran is exploring the possibility of talks with the United States (US) while resisting pressure to make major concessions.

Since returning to the White House in January, US President Donald Trump has called for a new nuclear deal with Tehran while reinstating his “maximum pressure” policy of sanctions.

Iran has officially ruled out direct talks as long as sanctions remain, with President Masoud Pezeshkian vowing on Tuesday that his country “will not bow in humiliation to anyone.”

On Friday, Trump said he had sent a letter to Iran’s supreme leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei urging negotiations and warning of possible military action if Iran refused.

Local media reported that Iran’s top diplomat Abbas Araghchi received Trump’s letter, which was delivered by senior Emirati official Anwar Gargash.

On Wednesday, Khamenei, who said he had not yet personally received the letter, said the US threats were “unwise” and that negotiations “will not lift sanctions ... and will make the sanctions knot tighter.”

He reiterated that Iran was “not seeking a nuclear weapon” and that the US invitation for talks was aimed at “deceiving the world’s public opinion.”

Observers say Tehran’s stance remains focused on its atomic program and not on wider issues.

“It seems that Iran is ready for limited negotiations — in the sense that they will not extend beyond the nuclear issue,” said foreign policy analyst Rahman Ghahremanpour.