ERBIL, Kurdistan Region of Iraq - Iran and the US have exchanged messages "indirectly and directly," said Iranian state media on Tuesday, citing the country's foreign minister, announcing that Tehran has submitted a new proposal to European powers amid the imposition of international sanctions.

Speaking to reporters after meeting with UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres, Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi said “Messages were exchanged with the Americans, both indirectly and directly.” He asserted that Tehran has done everything necessary and recalled the Iranian supreme leader's comments that “negotiations with the Americans are a complete deadlock,” which he said was proven by Washington's recent moves, according to the state-owned IRNA news agency.

Araghchi addressed the activation of the international "snapback" sanctions mechanism, elaborating that Western powers had misjudged Tehran's reaction. 

“They thought that the monster they made of Snapback would scare us so much that we would be willing to make any concessions. This is definitely not the case,” the Iranian diplomacy chief further noted.

The United Nations formally reimposed a global arms embargo and other sanctions on Iran through the “snapback” mechanism of the 2015 nuclear deal, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA). The UK, France, and Germany triggered the "snapback," accusing Tehran of noncompliance with the accord.

Araghchi stressed that Iran has previous experience with the measures, saying the country "has lived with the resolutions that they are now trying to revive."

Araghchi told Guterres that the new sanctions aimed to “extract concessions from the Islamic Republic of Iran; concessions that were completely unreasonable and impossible.” In response to which, Tehran proposed its own “completely reasonable proposals,” to the Europeans, Araghchi said, while criticizing the European troika's proposals as expired.

The Iranian government on Sunday announced its preparedness for the reimposition of sanctions, saying it had spent months studying plans to deal with the economic fallout. The renewed restrictions introduce a global ban on working with companies and individuals accused of cooperating with Iran’s nuclear and missile programs.

Araghchi condemned the three European countries and the US for allegedly abusing the JCPOA dispute resolution mechanism to “return expired Security Council resolutions against Iran unjustified and illegal,” IRNA reported.

The Iranian foreign minister also called for appropriate action regarding new restrictions imposed by the US on the Iranian delegation’s travel in New York. The US State Department announced Tuesday that the restrictions are part of its "maximum pressure" policy against Tehran. 

The delegation is restricted from entering "luxury shops" and is only permitted to travel to "the areas strictly necessary," a US State Department statement said, noting that the people of Iran are suffering from poverty and energy shortages.