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Iran’s Supreme Leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, has rejected holding negotiations with the United States over a nuclear deal after receiving a letter from President Donald Trump calling for such talks.
Recall that Trump said last week that he had sent the letter to Khamenei proposing nuclear talks.
However, the letter was handed over to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates.
But while the two officials were meeting, Khamenei told a group of university students that Trump’s offer “is a deception aimed at shaping global opinion.”
“We negotiated for years, reached a complete and signed agreement, and then this individual tore it up,” Khamenei said.
“How can one negotiate under such circumstances? … When we know they won’t, what is the point of negotiating?”
Meanwhile, Trump, in 2018, withdrew the US from Tehran’s 2015 nuclear deal with world powers and reimposed sanctions that have crippled Iran’s economy.
Tehran reacted a year later by violating the deal on nuclear control.
In other news, President Donald Trump has reiterated that Iran would not be allowed to have nuclear weapons, amid reports of uranium upgrades by the Islamic Republic.
The United Nations’ International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) recently warned of Iran’s enrichment of its near-bomb-grade uranium stockpile.
Speaking to reporters at the Oval Office on Friday, the US leader indicated, “There will be interesting days ahead,” hinting at possible action against Iran.
