Tehran: Iran’s Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei has condemned what he described as “bullying tactics” following U.S. President Donald Trump’s recent threat of military action against Iran.
“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. Their negotiations are not aimed at solving problems; they aim at domination,” Khamenei said during a meeting with Iranian officials, as quoted by AFP.
His remarks came just hours after Tehran’s mission to the United Nations denied receiving any formal communication from Trump. “We have not received such a letter so far,” a spokesman for Iran’s UN embassy stated, following Iran’s Foreign Minister telling AFP that Tehran would not engage in talks as long as Washington continues its “maximum pressure” policy.
Trump’s Letter to Iran on Nuclear Talks
On Friday, Trump revealed that he had written a letter to Iran’s leadership, urging negotiations for a new nuclear deal.
“I’ve written them a letter saying I hope you negotiate because if we have to go in militarily, it’s going to be a terrible thing for them,” Trump told Fox’s Maria Bartiromo in an interview.
Also Read | Guterres: Women’s Rights Under Attack, Urges Global Pushback
While not ruling out military intervention, Trump reiterated his preference for a diplomatic resolution. “I’m not sure that everybody agrees with me, but we can make a deal that would be just as good as if you won militarily,” he said.
Later on Friday, speaking from the Oval Office, Trump suggested that the standoff with Iran was reaching a critical juncture. “We have a situation with Iran that something’s going to happen very soon,” Bloomberg quoted him as saying.
Also Read | Pyongyang Reveals Nuclear Submarine, Experts Suspect Russian Involvement
“Hopefully, we can have a peace deal. I’m not speaking out of strength or weakness. I’m just saying I’d rather see a peace deal,” he added.
