Iran’s President Masoud Pezeshkian said that the Islamic Republic rejected negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program in response to a letter President Donald Trump sent the country's supreme leader.
While they have ruled out direct negotiations with the Trump administration, Iran has signalled a willingness for indirect talks.
“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian said.
“They must prove that they can build trust.”
Meanwhile, Trump has threatened bombing and secondary tariffs if Tehran does not come to an agreement with Washington.
“If they don’t make a deal, there will be bombing,” Trump said in a telephone interview with NBC.
“But there’s a chance that if they don’t make a deal, that I will do secondary tariffs on them like I did four years ago.”
Iran’s refusal is in response to a letter delivered to Tehran on 12 March.
“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 in the interview.
This comes as progress has been made in the agreements between the two countries since Trump withdrew the U.S. from Tehran’s nuclear deal during his first term in 2018.
Since then, the Isreal-Hamas war started in the Gaza Strip, which saw Israel target militant group leaders across Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance.” The U.S. has also conducted intense airstrikes targeting Houthi rebels of Yemen.
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Iran rejects direct nuclear talks with Trump, open to indirect negotiations
