Iran’s supreme chief Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has rejected the concept of negotiations with the US over its nuclear programme, as Tehran confirmed receiving a letter from President Donald Trump.
Final week, Trump mentioned the letter proposed talks on a deal that might stop Iran buying nuclear weapons and avert doable navy motion.
Though Khamenei mentioned he had not seen the letter, which was delivered by an official from the United Arab Emirates, he dismissed it as a “deception of public opinion”.
“After we know they will not honour it, what is the level of negotiating?” he requested, referring to Trump’s resolution to desert the 2015 Iranian nuclear deal throughout his first time period.
He warned that Iran would retaliate within the occasion of strikes on its nuclear amenities.
“Iran shouldn’t be in search of conflict, but when the People or their brokers take a unsuitable step, our response might be decisive and sure, and the one who will endure essentially the most hurt is America,” he mentioned.
The supreme chief, who has the ultimate say on all state issues, additionally reiterated that Iran was “not concerned with nuclear weapons”.
Ten years in the past, the nation agreed a historic take care of six world powers – China, France, Germany, Russia, the UK and the US – to restrict its nuclear actions and permit monitoring by inspectors from the Worldwide Atomic Power Company (IAEA) in return for sanctions reduction.
Nonetheless, Trump unilaterally pulled the US out of the accord in 2018 and reinstated crippling US financial sanctions. He labelled it “the worst deal in historical past”, saying it did too little to cease Iran’s potential pathway to constructing a nuclear bomb.
Iran responded by more and more breaching the phrases of the deal, significantly these limiting the manufacturing of enriched uranium, which can be utilized to supply gas for nuclear energy vegetation but additionally to construct nuclear weapons.
The IAEA mentioned final month that Iran had stockpiled virtually 275kg (606lb) of uranium enriched to 60% purity, which is close to weapons grade. That might theoretically be sufficient, if enriched to 90%, for six nuclear bombs.
Each the US and Israel have warned that they’ll by no means permit Iran to have a nuclear weapon. Israel has threatened to strike Iranian nuclear amenities if crucial.
Final 12 months, Israel mentioned it hit a part of Iran’s nuclear programme throughout strikes that it carried out in response to an Iranian missile assault.
In a TV interview broadcast final Friday, Trump mentioned: “There are two methods Iran might be dealt with: militarily, otherwise you make a deal. I would favor to make a deal, as a result of I am not seeking to harm Iran. They’re nice folks.”
“I’ve written them a letter saying, ‘I hope you are going to negotiate,’ as a result of if now we have to go in militarily, it should be a horrible factor for them,” he added.
The White Home has not given any particulars concerning the contents of the letter, which Iran mentioned was handed to Overseas Minister Abbas Araqchi by UAE presidential adviser Anwar Gargash.
Though the supreme chief dismissed the concept of negotiations with the US, Iran’s mission to the UN did say in a press release on Sunday that it would take into account talks “if the target is… to deal with considerations vis-à-vis any potential militarisation of Iran’s nuclear programme”.
Araqchi additionally mentioned on Wednesday that nuclear talks with the UK, France and Germany had been “ongoing”, whereas the Chinese language international ministry mentioned China, Russia and Iran would focus on the “Iranian nuclear challenge” at a trilateral assembly in Beijing on Friday.
