Iranian President Masoud Pezeshkian has declared that he will not engage in any discussions with U.S. President Donald Trump, stating that Trump is free to do whatever he wants.
This statement was made in response to a letter from Trump inviting Iran to negotiations, according to a report by Reuters on Wednesday.
On Tuesday, Iranian state media quoted Pezeshkian as saying, “Iran will not negotiate with the U.S. under threats. I will not talk to you. Do whatever you want.”
His remarks align with a statement from Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, who recently asserted that Tehran would not be forced into negotiations through threats. Khamenei made this comment a day after reports emerged that Trump had sent a letter urging Iran to discuss a new nuclear deal.
Although Trump has expressed openness to an agreement, he has also reinstated the “maximum pressure” policy from his first term, which aimed to cripple Iran’s economy and cut its oil exports to zero.
Speaking to Fox Business last week, Trump said, “There are two ways to deal with Iran: militarily or through an agreement to prevent them from acquiring nuclear weapons.”
Iran has consistently denied intentions to develop nuclear weapons but has significantly accelerated uranium enrichment to 60%, according to the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA).
Background
During his first term as president in 2016, Trump withdrew the U.S. from the 2015 nuclear deal between Iran and six world powers and reimposed crippling sanctions on Iran’s economy. In response, Iran expanded its nuclear program starting in 2019.