Iran’s Khamenei rejects us our bid for nuclear deals negotiations

Iran’s top leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei on Wednesday rejected negotiations with the United States for a nuclear deal, as the letter was delivered by US President Donald Trump calling for such talks.

Last week, Trump said he had sent the letter to Khamenei proposing nuclear talks, but also warned that “there are two ways in which Iran can be dealt with or make a deal.”

The letter was handed over to Iranian Foreign Minister Abbas Araqchi on Wednesday by Anwar Gargash, a diplomatic adviser to the president of the United Arab Emirates.

While Araqchi and Gargash met, Khamenei told a group of students whose offer of talks was “cheating”, the state media said.

“When we know that they will not honor it, what is the point of negotiation? As a result, the invitation to negotiate … is a deception of public opinion,” Khamenei said from the state media. Khamenei said he hadn’t seen the letter yet.

Khamenei said the negotiation with Trump’s administration, which he said he had excessive demands, “would tighten the knot of sanctions and increase pressure on Iran”.

In 2018, Trump withdrew the United States from Tehran’s nuclear deal in 2015 with world powers and reiterated the sanctions flooded by the Iranian economy. Tehran reacted a year later, violating the nuclear curbs of the agreement.

Khamenei, who has the final word in the Iranian states, said last week that Tehran would not be intimidated in threats.

While leaving the door open for a nuclear pact with Tehran, Trump restored the “maximum pressure” campaign it submitted to its first term as president to isolate Iran from the world economy and drive oil exports to zero.

The UAE, one of the main security partners of the Middle East of Washington and host US troops, also maintains warm ties with Tehran. Despite previous tensions, business and trade relations between the two countries remained strong and Dubai has served as a key trade hub for Iran for more than a century.

Military threats

Iran has long refused to want to develop a nuclear weapon.

“If we wanted to build nuclear weapons, the US couldn’t stop it. We don’t want it ourselves,” Khamenei said.

However, Iran’s stock for Uranus enriched up to 60% purity, close to about 90%, has jumped, the International Atomic Energy Agency said in late last month.

The leader of Iran Israel has threatened to attack Iran’s nuclear areas if diplomacy does not contain Tehran’s nuclear ambitions.

Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said last month after US Secretary of State Marco Rubio meeting that Israel and the United States were determined to overturn Iran’s nuclear ambitions and influence in the Middle East.

Khamenei warned Wednesday against any military strike in Iran.

“Iran is not looking for war, but if the Americans or their agents are taking the wrong step, our answer will be decisive and confident and the one who will suffer the greatest harm is America,” he said.

While Tehran has promised to oppose any military aggression, some Western diplomats argue that the country will face significant challenges.

Last year, Israel hit Iranian facilities, including rocket plants and air defenders in retaliation for Iranian missiles and attacks by acting.

It has reduced Tehran’s conventional military capabilities, according to analysts and US officials, an evaluation disputed by Tehran.