Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to Trump’s letter

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Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to Trump’s letter

In this photo released by the Iranian Presidency Office, President Masoud Pezeshkian speaks during a rally commemorating anniversary of 1979 Islamic Revolution that toppled the late pro-U.S. Shah Mohammad Reza Pahlavi and brought Islamic clerics to power, in Tehran, Iran, Monday, Feb. 10, 2025. (Iranian Presidency Office via AP, file)

2025-03-30T10:57:15Z

                                       

DUBAI, United Arab Emirates (AP) — Iran’s president said Sunday that the Islamic Republic rejected direct negotiations with the United States over its rapidly advancing nuclear program, offering Tehran’s first response to a letter         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/hub/donald-trump">President Donald Trump sent to         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-us-trump-letter-khamenei-f78aeb869d146978b6d377184e236ef9">the country’s supreme leader.

        data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-presidential-runoff-election-masoud-pezeshkian-profile-a07e9921fa8c25b1a05333e128c03916">President Masoud Pezeshkian said Iran’s response, delivered via the sultanate of Oman, left open the possibility of indirect negotiations with Washington. However, such talks have made no progress since Trump in his first term unilaterally withdrew America from Tehran’s nuclear deal with world powers in 2018.

In the years since, regional tensions have boiled over into attacks at         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/5484dc4a51644fa9839546e1cd7bf89f">sea and on         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-guard-drones-drill-f418d005cd53c6dd7a479214dab110cc">land. Then came         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/hub/israel-hamas-war">the Israel-Hamas war in the Gaza Strip, which saw Israel target militant group leaders across Iran’s self-described “Axis of Resistance.” Now, as the U.S. conducts intense airstrikes targeting the Iranian-backed Houthi rebels of Yemen, the risk of military action targeting Iran’s nuclear program remains on the table.

   

“We don’t avoid talks; it’s the breach of promises that has caused issues for us so far,” Pezeshkian said in televised remarks. “They must prove that they can build trust.”

   
       




   

The White House offered no immediate reaction to the announcement.

Trump’s letter came as both Israel and the United States have warned they will never let Iran acquire a nuclear weapon, leading to fears of a military confrontation as Tehran enriches uranium at near weapons-grade levels — something only done by atomic-armed nations.

   
   
       
           
               
   
   


   
   

       
   

           
       
   
   

Iran has long maintained its program is for peaceful purposes, even as its officials increasingly threaten to pursue the bomb.

Since Trump returned to the White House, his administration has consistently said that Iran must be prevented from acquiring nuclear weapons. A report in February, however, by         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/iran-nuclear-iaea-weapons-grade-uranium-trump-0b11a99a7364f9a43e1c83b220114d45">the U.N.’s nuclear watchdog said Iran has accelerated its production of near weapons-grade uranium.

Trump also ordered the attack that         data-gtm-enhancement-style="LinkEnhancementA" href="https://apnews.com/article/ap-top-news-tehran-international-news-iraq-ali-khamenei-5597ff0f046a67805cc233d5933a53ed">killed Iran’s top general in a Baghdad drone strike in January 2020.

                                   
                               
                           

                           
                   
                   
                   

                   
                   
   
       
           
               
   
       
           
               
                   
   
       

   

   
       

   
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                JON GAMBRELL
           
       

       
           
                Gambrell is the news director for the Gulf and Iran for The Associated Press. He has reported from each of the Gulf Cooperation Council countries, Iran and other locations across the world since joining the AP in 2006.
           
       
       
       
           
               
                   
                       
   
   
       
           
       
   
   
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Source: Iran has rejected direct negotiations with the US in response to Trump’s letter