Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei stated on Saturday that Tehran will not be coerced into negotiations, following U.S. President Donald Trump’s announcement that he had sent a letter to Iran’s leadership proposing discussions on a nuclear agreement.
In a Fox Business interview, Trump remarked that there are two approaches to dealing with Iran: through military action or by reaching a deal to prevent the nation from developing nuclear weapons.
During a meeting with senior Iranian officials, Khamenei asserted that Washington’s proposal for negotiations aimed to “impose their own expectations,” according to Iranian state media.
“The insistence of certain domineering governments on negotiations is not intended to resolve issues, but rather to exert control and impose their own demands.”
“For them, discussions serve as a means to establish new expectations; it extends beyond just Iran’s nuclear situation. Iran will categorically reject their demands.”
While Trump has indicated a willingness to negotiate with Tehran, he has also reinstated a “maximum pressure” campaign aimed at isolating Iran economically and reducing its oil exports to zero.
During his first term from 2017 to 2021, Trump withdrew the United States from a significant agreement between Iran and major powers that imposed strict limitations on Tehran’s nuclear activities in exchange for sanctions relief.
After the U.S. exit in 2018 and the re-imposition of sanctions, Iran exceeded the previously established limits.
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Rafael Grossi, the head of the U.N. nuclear watchdog, has warned that time is running out for diplomatic efforts to impose new restrictions on Iran’s activities, as the country continues to accelerate its uranium enrichment to levels close to weapons-grade.
Tehran maintains that its nuclear endeavors are exclusively for peaceful purposes.
