Iran Condemns 'Bullying Tactics' After US Sends Letter To Solve Problems
Iran said it hadn’t received a letter from Trump yet, but they have heard of it. Abbas Araghchi, the foreign minister, stated that Tehran would not negotiate under “maximum pressure”.
Iran’s supreme leader, Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, condemned the “bullying tactics” a day after US President Donald Trump threatened military action against the country.
According to AFP, Trump threatened military action if Iran refused to engage in talks over its nuclear programme, following which Khamenei said, “Some bully governments – I really don’t know of any more appropriate term for some foreign figures and leaders than the word bullying – insist on negotiations”.
He said that “Their negotiations are not aimed at solving problems, they aim at domination”. Trump said he wrote a letter to the country's leadership on Thursday, saying he hoped Tehran would agree to talks on the country’s nuclear programme or face possible military action if it refuses.
"I said I hope you're going to negotiate because it's going to be a lot better for Iran," Trump said in the interview with Fox Business Network broadcast Friday. “I think they want to get that letter. The other alternative is we have to do something because you can't let another nuclear weapon."
On Friday, Trump said he had written to Iran’s supreme leader, urging new talks on the country’s nuclear programme or face possible military action if it refuses. Khamenei said on Saturday that bullying powers aim to assert their own expectations.
“They are setting new expectations that they think will definitely not be met by Iran,” he said, without naming the United States or referring to Trump’s letter, as per AFP.
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Iran said it hadn’t received a letter from Trump yet, but they have heard of it.
“We have heard of it [the letter] but we haven’t received anything,” the foreign minister, Abbas Araghchi, said on state television.
In an interview with AFP, Araghchi stated that Tehran would not negotiate under “maximum pressure,” though he did not directly address Trump’s letter.
In 2018, Trump withdrew the US from the Iran nuclear accord, formally known as the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA), which imposed curbs on Iran's nuclear programme in exchange for sanctions relief. Since then, Tehran has stocked highly enriched uranium that is enough for use in multiple nuclear weapons.
Upon returning to the White House in January, Trump reinstated his first-term "maximum pressure" policy on Iran.
Tehran In Diplomatic Efforts With European Countries
In recent months, Tehran has engaged in diplomatic efforts with three European countries—Britain, France, and Germany—to address concerns over its nuclear ambitions. On Saturday, Khamenei also rebuked the three European countries for “declaring that Iran has not fulfilled its nuclear commitments under the JCPOA”. “You say that Iran has not fulfilled its commitments under the JCPOA. OK, have you fulfilled your commitments under the JCPOA?” he responded.
Khamenei stated that Tehran had upheld its commitments for a year but saw “no other way” forward except to roll them back, in line with legislation passed by the country’s parliament.
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