Trump Claims He Sent Letter to Iran’s Leader Urging Negotiations, but Tehran Says It Hasn’t Received Anything
Iran says it has not received a letter from President Donald Trump, despite the US leader’s claim that he sent one seeking talks with the country’s leadership about its nuclear program.
“We have not received such a letter so far,” a spokesman for Iran’s embassy said on Friday.
The statement comes after Trump announced that he had sent a letter to Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei, proposing negotiations for a new deal to curb Tehran’s rapidly advancing nuclear program. However, Iran’s Foreign Minister Abbas Araghchi dismissed the possibility of nuclear talks with the US as long as Washington maintains its heavy sanctions against Iran.
“We will not enter any direct negotiations with the US so long as they continue their maximum pressure policy and their threats,” Araghchi told AFP.
Since taking office in January, the Trump administration has imposed sweeping sanctions on Iran, including targeting its oil industry, as part of its “maximum pressure” strategy.
Iranian state media immediately reported Trump’s comments, which were made during a Fox Business News interview aired in parts on Friday. However, there was no confirmation from Khamenei’s office about the receipt of any letter. The full interview is expected to air on Sunday.
It remains unclear how the 85-year-old Supreme Leader would respond. Notably, former President Barack Obama kept his letters to Khamenei confidential before the negotiations that led to the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and world powers. Trump withdrew the US from that agreement in 2018.
In a speech last August, Khamenei appeared open to talks with the US, stating there is “no harm” in engaging with the “enemy.” This followed the election of reformist President Masoud Pezeshkian in June 2024, who campaigned on promises to negotiate a new deal similar to the 2015 agreement.
Trump’s acknowledgment comes amid warnings from both the US and Israel that they will not allow Iran to obtain nuclear weapons. Tensions are running high as Tehran enriches uranium to near-weapons-grade levels—purity typically sought by nations with atomic weapons.
“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you’re going to negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing,’” Trump said. He added that he sent the letter “yesterday,” during the interview filmed on Thursday.
The White House confirmed Trump’s comments, stating that he had sent a letter to Iran’s leaders seeking to negotiate a nuclear deal.
“I would rather negotiate a deal. I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily,” Trump said. “But the time is happening now. The time is coming up. Something’s going to happen one way or the other.”
In a further appeal, Trump added, “I hope you’re going to negotiate because it’s going to be a lot better for Iran, and I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something because you can’t let them have a nuclear weapon.”
Trump did not provide details about what, if anything, was specifically offered to Iran in the letter.
Iran has consistently maintained that its nuclear program is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue nuclear weapons amid rising tensions with the US over sanctions and with Israel, as a fragile ceasefire holds in its war against Hamas in the Gaza Strip.
US intelligence agencies have assessed that Iran has not yet initiated a weapons program but has “undertaken activities that better position it to produce a nuclear device, if it chooses to do so.”
Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has emphasized that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. A recent report by the United Nations’ nuclear watchdog revealed that Iran has accelerated its production of near-weapons-grade uranium.
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